The Tenth Hour
by MeMyselfAndTARDIS
Summary: The Doctor and the Master have escaped the clutches of none other than death itself, but it doesn't take two great minds to understand that this whole thing must be some sort of a dream. Either that, or the universe is on their side... The alternate story that occurs after "End of Time" (?).
1. Saved

**Note: **This story came about after I watched End of Time for the umpteenth time. I don't think I've seen much fics on alternative endings to this particular episode, or maybe I've just missed them. Woops!

This is my own interpretation of what would happen if The Master actually survived in End of Time.

Argh! Enough of my babbling! Enjoy my fic! :"D

* * *

**Prologue**

"The Link has been broken! Back into the Time War, Rassilon!" The Doctor shouted. "Back into Hell!"

As the Time Lords were being dragged back into the Time War itself, Rassilon stretched out his left arm, the gauntlet emitting a deadly white glow. "You'll die with me, Doctor!"

"I know…" The Doctor trailed off. He accepted death and closed his eyes. "_Lived too long…_" He thought.

"Get out of the way." The Doctor turned around.

The Master clambered to his feet. He shot a blast of energy from his hand towards Rassilon. "You did this to me!" He screamed. One by one, memories of what really happened to him seeped into his mind. "All my life!" He shot another beam from his other hand as Rassilon staggered. "You made me," another beam was shot, "One!" He threw his other hand out to shoot more. The Doctor staggered backwards, completely shocked at what was happening. "Two!" A second blast was shot. "Three!" A third, "_FOUR!_" An almighty fourth blast was enough to put Rassilon on his knees.

Before The Master stepped forward to push Rassilon back into the Time Lock with him, The Doctor lunged towards him and they fell to the ground, just as the Time Lock was sealed again.

**~DW~**

The Doctor awoke from unconsciousness and pushed himself upwards, oblivious to the shards of glass around him. "I'm alive…" He laughed, "I'm alive…"

"_Theta…_" Only one person would call him that through telepathy. The Doctor turned his head to meet The Master's. He was lying on the broken glass covered floor. "What happened?" He asked.

"I dragged you away just in time for the Time Lock to close…"

"You saved me… Why?"

"Because I knew about the mental torture they did to you. For starters, _they_ blocked your ability to directly emit and receive a telepathic call as Rassilon thought it would drive you more insane every time you would hear someone die in battle from afar. For you to call my nickname through telepathy proves that you're back to normal." There was a brief pause. "Should I give you a list of more reasons why I saved you?"

In a very long time, The Master smiled. Not an evil smile, but a genuine and proper smile.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

Both Time Lords turned their heads to the Immortality Gate. Wilfred Mott stood there and sighed.

"You don't suppose you could get me out of here?" The feeble old man said.

The Doctor was the first to get up. "Yeah…"

He helped The Master to his feet.

"You're the one who knows how to work this thing, I trust you can do it?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah…" The Master simply replied.

**~DW~**

"Wow! I couldn't believe what just happened!" Wilfred exclaimed. "Seeing all _that_, whilst being trapped inside this glass box is too much for me… I don't see how we look like giants to you after my uselessness back there" he indicated the Immortality Gate.

"You were lucky The Master knew how the Gate works." The Doctor turned to The Master. "You're really _brilliant_, you are! Using _silicon microchips_ to absorb the radiation! Who would have known?"

"_Theta…_" The Doctor heard The Master's telepathic call.

The Master gave The Doctor a concerned look. At once he understood and turned to Wilfred. "Wilf, you should get to the TARDIS. Officers would be coming here right now and we can come up with a statement. I don't want others to suspect you."

At once, Wilfred nodded and left the room.

"The drumming" The Master said. "It's stopped," He laughed in _utter_ relief. "_Finally!_" He cried. The Doctor swore he saw a tear in The Master's eye.

* * *

**Note: **Oh! almost forgot!

DISCLAIMER

This story is in no way associated with the BBC in any way.

I do not own 'Doctor Who' or any of the characters involved in this story.

They respectfully belong to the BBC.


	2. Onwards and Upwards

The Doctor lied sprawled along the metal floor of the TARDIS processing the last four hours that had just occurred. He dropped off a rather shaken but happy Wilfred back to Chiswick and left the Naismith mansion for Torchwood to clean up and that seemed to be all he had done in the long hours. For most of the time, he was extremely quiet to his liking. Suddenly, he gave out a rather louder than expected chuckle, breaking the silence apart from the TARDIS' soothing hum.

"You are stone cold brilliant you are…"

"Yes, I rather am! I haven't lost my touch."

The Doctor turned his head to The Master who was sitting on the pilot chair.

"I should have known. You've still got that pinch of arrogance in you…" He trailed off. "But projecting your energy to push back Rassilon back into the Time War was simply _brilliant_! _Molto bene! _And to think you'd manage to do that without having any deaths, I'm starting to wonder if you're still the 'Baddy Master' or 'Goody Master'" he teased.

"Koschei" The Master corrected and smirked, "'Goody Koschei'". He stretched out his legs and rested them upon the console and sighed. The TARDIS let out a warm hum.

The Doctor smiled and hesitated for a moment. "She's already liking you. The TARDIS I mean…"

There was a brief pause as both Time Lords fumbled with some words before the Master beat the Doctor to it.

"It can never be quite the same again, Theta…" the words were quietly delivered, but with some weight underneath it. The Doctor jerked up at the mention of his nickname. It seemed like they were both thinking along the same lines. "I've seen too much and done too much to go back to who I was…"

"You think _I'm_ the same as I was back then?" He asked quite softly.

"No… we've been completely torn into shreds by our own people; taken up as mere pawns and being tortured in battle to satisfy their overweening egos."

The Doctor simply nodded. "Yeah…"

More humming emanated from the TARDIS.

Whilst pushing memories of their past into a dark corner of his mind, Koschei's eyes widened in realisation, "holy mother of Gallifrey, I got rid of the Time Lords!"

The Doctor laughed, "Who's a 'Goody Koschei'?"

Koschei snapped his head towards The Doctor and frowned.

After getting used to the sensation from nearly three hours lying down on the TARDIS floor, The Doctor stumbled a bit after clambering to his feet.

_"It's like watching Bambi stand up!"_ Koschei thought to himself. A grin plastered to his face as he held in the laughter.

"_OI!_" The Doctor pouted.

Forgetting that Time Lords had the ability to hear each other's thoughts, Koschei couldn't help but laugh-a genuine laugh of happiness. The two Time Lords laughed together in attempts to forget their painful past. To do what the last of the Time Lords could only do best: To move onwards and never look back.

**~DW~**

For the first time in a while, The Doctor studied himself. He ran his fingers through his hair and winced slightly at a lingering pain. He frowned as he noticed his favourite suit was in tatters after that painful fall through the glass window from the Vinvocci space ship. _Thankfully he had a spare suit…_ His eyes widened in realisation

"Oh no…" He gasped. Koschei instantly gave The Doctor a quizzical look. "I left my spare suit in the other universe…"

* * *

**Quick note: **From now on, The Master will be known as Koschei. For those who haven't figured it out, The Doctor's nickname at the Time Lord academy was _Theta Sigma _and The Master's _Koschei_. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D


	3. Suits

"Just get a new suit! Pinstripes and trainers don't exactly go together…"

Koschei stood back as The Doctor frantically dashed around the console of the TARDIS. "This is serious, Shay. I can't go around time and space looking like this!" He indicated the beaten up suit he still wore, "and I love this suit! I'll probably throw in another blue suit as well-could you just activate the dampers?" He indicated the weird contraption on the other side of the console. Koschei did as he was told, but frowned.

"I haven't piloted a TT Type 40 TARDIS before since mine was a Type 45, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to_ release the brakes_ before you activate the inertial dampers…"

The TARDIS hummed in agreement but The Doctor seemed oblivious. He fumbled with a loose thread on his suit and frowned, and started at the console again, flicking and pressing various controls on the console as the TARDIS lurched here and there through the Time Vortex.

Koschei was slightly taken aback as The Doctor reached the space/time throttle with his foot whilst his hands busied themselves on the steering mechanism and gyroscopic stabiliser.

"You've been driving the TARDIS on your own all this time?" Koschei asked in amazement.

The Doctor's activities seemed to be coming to an end, as the glowing central column slid to a halt. The deafening hullabaloo of the engines suddenly faded away. The Doctor picked up a rubber mallet and gave a panel a wallop, as if for luck. Again, Koschei frowned and then smiled at this. It seemed to him The Doctor operated more by luck than logic, yet he seemed to get away with it. He laughed quietly at that.

"So where are we?" he asked him.

The Doctor whirled around and caught him laughing at him. He raised an eyebrow. "London." He simply replied, running his hands distractedly through his hair. "C'mon! The shop isn't too far from here!"

**~DW~**

Because of his practical, and forward-thinking nature, Koschei wore a black shirt complemented with a loose burgundy tie, a black waistcoat and black trousers, all from the TARDIS wardrobe. To finish it all off, he wore a long grey coat, almost like a different coloured variation of The Doctor's long brown coat. There seemed to be a peculiar thing with black associating him… The Doctor refused to wear any of the clothes Koschei found for him in the wardrobe just as a temporary replacement of the suit, but gave in to his childish behaviour.

The Two Time Lords entered the department store. A few people eyed the man in a ripped up brown suit but seemed to take it in their stride, seeing as they've seen worse things lately.

"This doesn't feel right…" The Doctor murmured. They approached the counter waiting for staff to serve them.

"For starters, you're wearing _that_." Koschei indicated The Doctor's clothes. "People are bound to look at you."

"No, not that…" The Doctor trailed off. "How long does it take for the staff here to serve us?" He glanced around, but his eyes widened when realisation dawned on him. "Oh, no…"

Koschei turned to his friend.

"Oh you _silly_ girl… that has gone way too far…" The Doctor muttered. He could almost hear a psychic... _laughter?_

_The TARDIS..._

It seems the TARDIS got her back by taking the Doctor to the department store in 2004 after being hit by a mallet.

Koschei caught a glimpse of someone and called out. "S'cuse me! Would you mind serving my friend here please? We're in a bit of a rush…"

"No, no, no, no!" The Doctor squeaked, but trailed off as a young blonde girl approached the counter. Instantly, he looked away, pretending to admire a mannequin but frowning slightly as he remembered his last encounter with one. He surrendered and turned forwards, trying not to look at the woman straight in the face.

"How can I help you?" She asked in an East London accent.

The Doctor cursed in Gallifreyan after hearing the all too familiar voice. "_Damn that TARDIS" _he thought.

Koschei instantly heard his thoughts and looked at him in confusion. Then turned back to the lady at the counter. "He needs a suit."

"I can tell… What have you done to it?" She indicated to The Doctor's battered suit. "We've got loads of suits anyway. Any style in particular?"

"I want a blue one," The Doctor blurted. He blushed as he caught the woman's eye. "Urm… not a baby blue one or a navy blue one-well it's close to navy blue and I don't mean the song '_Navy Blue_' by Diane Renay, just a little bit lighter…" He babbled.

Koschei sighed, "You get what he means, Miss…" he read the name badge on the woman's clothes "Rose Ty-"

"Just make sure it also has red pinstripes! Not bright red, more like a rusty red!" The Doctor chipped in.

_"THETA!"_

At once The Doctor heard Koschei's thoughts followed by a sharp nudge in his mind. He rocked on his heels not knowing what else to do, unaware of his reddening face.

The girl laughed at The Doctor and sauntered away. "I'll see what I can find."

**~DW~**

The Doctor ambled around the changing rooms in his new suit, getting used to the slightly looser fit. He halted at a mirror and spun to his side. He hummed in approval.

"Someone's happy"

Koschei walked towards The Doctor, grinning at his new appearance. "The maroon Converse goes well with the suit, but I'm still not convinced that pinstripes and trainers go together..."

"Keep thinking that, but now we can travel through time and space looking brilliant as always."

"_Finally!_" Koschei let out a relieved sigh. "Omega knows when you're going to stop going on about that suit…"

He eventually asked the question that had been annoyingly lingering in his mind. "So tell me, what's up between you and that blonde chick?"

The Doctor fiddled with his burgundy tie. "Her name's _Rose Tyler_ and she was my companion that's all."

Koschei looked at him with raised eyebrows "_Was?_"

"She had to leave…"

"How come she doesn't recognise you?"

"This is her past self before she met me…"

"Ah… that explains a lot." Koschei whispered. "What's she like?" He abruptly asked.

"_Brilliant_" The Doctor simply replied. His eyes lowered showing sadness and hurt. Koschei felt The Doctor's emotions emanating from his psyche.

"Did she _dump_ you?!" Koschei blurted.

"_What?!_ _No!_ We never went out, when did you think we went out? What made you even _think_ that?"

"My Theta fell in love with a human!" Koschei teased. The Doctor glared at him.

_"Stop it."_ He telepathically warned.

Koschei heard him and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! I'll stop! On a side note, you really should put up those shields…"

"What?"

"I can detect your emotions, put up your psychic barriers so other psi-sensitive creatures won't detect them. Has your psyche always been like that? I can hear your thoughts from a _light-year_ away! Didn't they teach you this at the Academy?"

The Doctor pouted as he realised he'll be acquainted by another Time Lord from now on. Not that he despised it, but he forgot that Time Lords are extremely psi-sensitive and can hear one another. He was used to being around beings that weren't psi-sensitive-Humans in particular. He scrunched his face in concentration as he built a number of barriers in his mind.

"That's better!" Koschei smiled. "Just like old times, isn't it? There's Koschei, the brainy one…" His hand pointed out as if mapping out a drawing, "and Theta, the less brainy one."

The Doctor frowned. "_OI_... Just because you have a higher degree in Cosmic Science doesn't mean you're better than me." He said less proudly. "You just have a more advanced mind! It's the progress that counts! And I happen to be progressing more than you back at the academy! Besides, I got higher grades than you in Quantum Physics and Recreational Maths! Besides, I've studied Art, Architecture, Cybernetics, Pharmacology, History and know a _very _broad knowledge of Law." He fought back. Koschei simply rolled his eyes.

The two Time Lords exited the changing rooms and drew nearer to the check out.

Rose smiled as she saw the newly dressed man come out of the changing rooms. There was something irresistible about him and he looked rather cute in his new suit. The Converse topped it of rather nicely. "You look cute…" She absentmindedly said. Her eyes widened as she slapped her hand to her mouth. The Doctor raised a quizzical brow and blushed. "Oh please don't report this to my boss! This is my only job and my mum will _kill_ me!"

"Nah, don't worry. He gets that a lot," Koschei laughed, psychically nudging The Doctor's dazed mind.

_"You owe me for that"_ Koschei telepathically said.

_"I get it"_ The Doctor replied as he paid for the suits. Koschei managed to ask Rose for a brown version of the same suit after The Doctor refused to talk to her since the dramatic encounter.

"Thanks!" Rose smiled. "And Merry Christmas!"

The Doctor smiled "Oh!" A new thought crossed his mind. "It's 2005 soon?"

"_Duh…_ Course it is" Rose laughed.

The Doctor smiled. "Tell you what. I bet you're gonna have a _great_ year."

Rose wondered. "Really?" She smiled, the tongue between her teeth smile. "Thanks!"

The Doctor smiled as he and Koschei walked out of the shop. He felt slightly thankful the TARDIS threw him in this particular timeline.


	4. Let the Games Begin

"Nice hair," Koschei complemented as The Doctor walked into the TARDIS console room. "This newer body of yours seems to have a more decent sense of fashion. But I still think-"

"Converse and suits are _brilliant_ together." The Doctor chipped in. "As for the hair…" He ran his fingers through his hair making it even more spiky, "Thanks, I experimented with back combing a while back and it seems to do a nice job..."

"So where now?" Koschei asked.

"hmmm…" The Doctor hunched over the TARDIS console. He scrunched his face in concentration before the imaginary light bulb on his head flickered on. "How about the Lost Moon of Poosh!"

"Been there…" Koschei mumbled. "Their pools are _freezing_…"

"Aw…" The Doctor's head lowered in disappointment. "On top of Paris, I wanted to retire there…"

"_'Let's explore the stars_' you said. 'It will be _fun!_' You said." Koschei mocked. "Theta, I'm not impressed with your imagination lately…"

"Fine, what about Raxacorico-"

"Been there…" Koschei interrupted.

The Doctor listed countless places spanning through time _and_ space, but Koschei seemed to have been there already…

The Doctor sighed. He _hated_ doing nothing. There came a point when he found himself lying on a sofa with his feet dangling on the end at 3am in Jackie Tyler's house because the TARDIS was repairing herself. He only found himself flung into a world where different timezones collided and stranded creatures from various places in time and space desperately attempted to escape the world. He never wanted to do _that_ again…

"Ah!" An idea came to The Doctor's head. He activated the time rotor handbrake and the TARDIS jerked. "Be right back! Or BRB? I don't get human slang these days…" He headed towards the door, but beckoned Koschei to wait there and poked his head out of the TARDIS. There was a moment's silence. "Jack! …" His voice trailed off as he walked out of the TARDIS.

Koschei stared at the door, bewildered. "_What the hell is he up to this time?_" He thought. He took this opportunity to explore the TARDIS console. For the first time, he realised the interior seemed a bit _unclean_… How did The Doctor cope with it? But judging from the constant lurches in the TARDIS during The Doctor's travels, he assumed The Doctor gave up tidying every time something was knocked down because of the turbulence. He peered closely at the post-it notes around the monitor. Circular Gallifreyan was inscribed on all of them and Koschei began to read some.

"Tag!" Koschei jumped from the sudden break in silence. The Doctor rushed towards the console and pulled the dematerialise lever at once, as if in a hurry. "Let's play Tag."

"What, in the TARDIS?" Koschei asked, obviously not seeing where this is going.

"No, Tag throughout _time and space_" He grinned.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Koschei laughed. "That's what we did when we were only like 90 years old, we're not kids anymore!"

"So? With the TARDIS set to random and this…" He took out a Vortex Manipulator from his pocket.

"Where did you get a Vortex Manipulator from?" Koschei asked a little surprised.

"Never mind that! Anyway, this will also be set to random…" He trailed off as he fumbled in his pockets and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Whoever is 'it' gets to use the TARDIS…" He buzzed it into the Vortex Manipulator's circuits and stopped and hummed in approval. "So whady'a say?"

Koschei clambered from the pilot chair and slowly walked towards The Doctor. He slapped The Doctor's arm and smiled. "Tag… you're it." He snatched the Vortex Manipulator from him and disappeared into a hazy fuzz.

* * *

**On a quick note: **I made a bit of a reference to reddwarfaddict's story 'Ordinary World'. Check it out! It's worth the read!


	5. The Vortex Manipulator

**Note:** Anyone curious about what happened when The Doctor left Koschei in the TARDIS? Yeah, I thought that myself... So here's what happens... :3

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Jack smiled to himself. A lot has changed in Torchwood since 2011. Apart from the new Hub refurbishment, the new crew instantly took a shine to him. No new suspicious alien activities were reported around the world and the crew were out on patrol. He took this precious moment to dwell in his past.

"_Gwen, Rhys, Owen, Tosh, Ianto… Oh Ianto…_" So much happened since the retirement of his previous crew. He sighed muttering about his immortality. Two days ago, he nearly screamed the Hub down after discovering a strand of grey hair. His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when an all too familiar wheezing and grinding noise could be heard. He cursed, as paperwork was frantically blown from a breeze coming from an unknown source... well not unknown in Jack's case. Soon, a blue box materialised not too far from his desk and instantly, he stood and studied himself, making sure he looked presentable for _him_.

A man's head popped out from the door, his brown spiky hair sticking out and upwards in many directions as if defying gravity itself. He saw Jack and stepped out grinning. "Jack! Nice to see you!"

"Doctor!" Jack cried. "Wait! Don't tell me! You're not from the past? I hope so because Mickey-"

"_Spoilers_, Jack!" The Doctor interrupted, "I'm from the past so save it. What year is this?"

To his disappointment, Jack simply replied "2046…"

The Doctor walked up to Jack and indicated to raise his left arm. "I'm going to have to take this for a while…" He fumbled with the Vortex manipulator but Jack protested.

"Why do you need it? You travel by TARDIS…"

Jack yanked his wrist from the Time Lord but he persisted and it slipped off his wrist.

"I'll give it back to you, promise!"

And after that, The Doctor scuttled away. The TARDIS door was shut and he was gone.


	6. Have That On Me

**Note:** I haven't said this before, but comments are fully appreciated. I'm entering the exams phase so I might not post chapters as frequent as I like, or I may take a little break from 'The Tenth Hour'. Hopefully, you're all enjoying this fic! :D

* * *

The Doctor dashed around the TARDIS console. He did _not_ see that coming. The Master is clever he'll give him that. The monitor blipped and at once, The Doctor stared at the screen. It showed a view of planet Earth, since the TARDIS was in a parking orbit around the Earth. He had to locate the Vortex Manipulator and spent a lot of time estimating its path. Now he was about to see if he was correct. Flexing long thin fingers, he reached out and pressed the final control.

To his surprise, the TARDIS tracked the Vortex Manipulator in Earth, in the same timeline where he was. _Ealing_? That's a bit boring… Still, he smiled to himself and rubbed his hands. "Still haven't lost my touch!"

He flicked and pressed more controls and the screen disappeared. "Here goes nothing…"

**~DW~**

"That was the _maddest _Christmas ever, Klein…" Luke Smith hurried along the pathway whilst talking on the phone. "Mum _still _doesn't know what happened. She got Mr Smith to pull out this story saying that Wifi went mad all across the world giving everyone hallucinations…" he crossed the road and continued walking, unaware of a silver car speeding towards him, "I mean, how else are we gonna explain that everyone with a different face has-"

A streak of blue flashed before Luke's eyes as the momentum of whatever it was rushed him back towards the pavement he just crossed. He heard the screech of a car horn before he opened his eyes to a man in a blue suit staring at him. The man stood there for a moment, his long brown coat flapping in its own panic after that near death incident. Luke stood there, shocked and looked at the man from head to toe.

"Your…" He trailed off.

"Yes, _hi_! I'm The Doctor! Remember me?" He waved and wiggled his fingers. "_Please_ pay attention when you cross the road. _Blimey!_ Humans are such fragile creatures…" The Doctor looked around and faced Luke again. "Just out of sheer curiosity, and when I mean sheer, I mean a lot of curiosity. Have you by any chance seen a blonde haired man about ye high in a long grey coat?"

Luke stared at The Doctor for a moment. "Actually, I have. Is his name Cushion?"

"_Koschei_." The Doctor corrected. "And yes, that's him. How do you know him?" He murmured.

"He asked me directions to the nearest newsagents. It's not too far from here."

"_Brilliant!_ Thanks for your help!" And with that, The Doctor sped off in the direction Luke pointed towards. He came to an abrupt halt and jogged back towards Luke. "Oh, and say "hi" to your mum for me!"

Sarah Jane always told Luke of her adventures with The Doctor. She'd probably _flip_ when she found out Luke met him. He laughed quietly after his encounter with The Doctor and he swore he heard him shout _"ALLONS-Y!"_

The Doctor slowed down to a walking pace and entered a small newsagent not too far from the high street. He frowned when there was no sight of Koschei. He saw a lottery stand and and he remembered something. "Maybe abusing my privileges of time travel just a _little_ won't hurt the universe…"

**~DW~**

Koschei ambled out of an alley and expected a man in a blue pinstripe suit and Converse in the newsagent (Thanks to Luke). He smiled as he saw just that. _This is too easy._ He thought sneaking up to The Doctor to scare him and running away was too big of an opportunity to miss.

**~DW~**

The Doctor took a lottery ticket to the counter, but stopped to search his pockets. "_Blimey_… I have transdimensional pockets but no Earth currency…" He turned to a man in his late 50s. "Excuse me sir. You don't mind if I borrow a quid off you?"

The man smiled and searched his coin purse. "'Ere, have it," he smiled, handing him a coin. "Have that on me."

The Doctor smiled and paid for his ticket. He walked out of the store, "Thank you Mister..." The Doctor beckoned the man to say his name.

"Noble. The name's Jeffrey Noble."

"_Noble!_" The Doctor exclaimed in glad surprise. "I don't believe in coincidences, but _this_, is a _fantastic_ surprise! Well thank you, Jeffrey Noble!" He smiled as he walked out of the newsagent.

The Doctor turned out of the corner only to shriek in utter terror as a blonde haired man jumped and screamed in front of him and disappear in a puff of smoke.


	7. An Unlikely Encounter

Jack sighed at the amount of paperwork he had to do, wondering how he would have to report about 26 missing planets that have suddenly appeared in the universe. He muttered as he remembered to report about a red planet that was about to knock off Earth from its orbit a few hours ago. Jack knew the Doctor had something to do with this… He's an immortal! Why can't he do whatever he wanted? Jack thought he saw Ianto saunter in with a tray of coffee and smiled, _this_ answered his question. He looked up only to be greeted by a seemingly familiar blonde haired man.

"Where the _hell_ did this thing take me?" The man said rather confused. He heard something click and turned his gaze to a man in a military trench coat aiming his gun at him. Well this is _crap_.

"How the _hell_ did you get here? No one should be able to get through our defences" Jack said with steel in his voice. Soon his eyes widened as he realised who he was dealing with. "No…" He gasped in disbelief.

"I'm sorry there seems to be some misunderstanding, Jack was it? I thought you seemed familiar…"

"You deserve to _die _after what you did. That was the worse year I've ever had in my life because of a bastard who wanted to conquer the universe for his pitiful pleasure…"

Cautiously, Koschei lifted his hands in surrender. "No please, I can explain…"

As if on cue, The Doctor ran into Jack's office. "_Blimey!_ You're getting yourself into trouble _already? _You're _good._"

"Doctor?" Jack asked in total bewilderment.

"Jack! Hello! Sorry, I don't think Gwen saw me come in. I see you've met Koschei."

"Did you die your hair blonde?" Jack asked Koschei distractedly. He did find him rather good looking…

Koschei looked in total confusion. "What?"

"I just thought you were someone I met before…" Jack feebly replied.

"Oh did I tell you? Koschei _was_ The Master. Time Lords brainwashed him and now he's 'Goody Koschei', we're off now!" The Doctor grabbed Koschei on the shoulders and led him out of the Hub.

"_Tag! You're it"_

Koschei heard the psychic call and huffed in annoyance.

"I trust you're going to explain everything at another point in time?" Jack asked in a serious tone.

"Ask Martha. I told her about everything there is to know about Koschei AKA The Master, while you were out 'buying chips'." The Doctor emphasised the last part. Then a clever idea crept into the Time Lord's mind. "Oh! And would you mind checking the Torchwood files for me? Look for 'Alonso Frame' under the 'Titanic' case files."

As soon as The Doctor led Koschei away from Jack, he snatched the Vortex Manipulator and vanished. Koschei laughed as he dashed for the TARDIS. For a moment, he thought he saw a flash of worry on The Doctor's face.

**~DW~**

Jack picked up the papers that were lying along the floor and proceeded to his computer.

"_Ianto!_" He yelled. He heard a faint grumble outside the office and grinned. "What day is it today?"

"_**21st December 2012**_. Ask Father Christmas to get you a _calendar." _Ianto replied playfully.

Jack laughed and typed 'Alonso Frame' and a file was displayed on his screen. Jack looked at the profile picture. "My _God_ he looks cute…"

* * *

**NOTE: **Ah! This was quite a short chapter o.o Christmas shopping got in my way haha! Anyway, happy end of the world! xD

I've posted a new short fanfic and I hope you'd like to read it :3


	8. End of the World

**Note: **Holy mother of Gallifrey, I'm alive! Not sure if I'll be as active online during Christmas, but here's a little 'special' I wrote. Consider it as your early Christmas present :D

Oh! And before you start, assume that the End of the World involves walls in the universe collapsing. :3

Enjoy!

* * *

Something was wrong with the TARDIS. It wasn't flying as smoothly as it used to, and considering that it didn't fly very smoothly at all, you can imagine how very unsmooth it was currently flying. Koschei stumbled about, trying to reach for the handbrakes. After intense concentration, he approached the lever and pulled it, resulting in a very abrupt halt.

He sat on the floor, running his hands through his blonde hair, and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. However, the unmistakable screech of the TARDIS made that seemingly difficult. He almost thought Earth would have met its End, but the moment The Doctor came, he brought hope back to life. Koschei rose to his feet and made his way to the door. He opened it and found he was in London. More precisely, an estate in East London... with zeplins in the sky... _It's probably the future London._ Then he realised this was Parallel Earth. He remembered The Doctor talking to him about it. "Pete's World" was what he liked to call it. He soon realised he must have seeped through a remaining crack in the wall of the universe waiting to seal itself shut, whilst travelling through the Time Vortex. This discovery, however, was not the source to which his surprised gasp mixed with surprise came from. No, that sound came from the fact that before him, he saw The Doctor, unaware that the TARDIS landed very near him. He, too, must have fallen through into this universe with him. Koschei grinned as he left the TARDIS and silently neared The Doctor.

**~DW~**

Rose casually passed by her living room window. She sighed as she checked her phone. It blipped and she sighed in relief as she saw the date: **22/12/2012**. _Talk about the end of the world…_ She swore she saw a familiar figure outside with a long coat and Converse shoes, and her heart stopped for a second time as if deciding whether she finally died, but she's alive, and so waits for the vision to slip back into her subconscious, but it doesn't. She shrugged the thought off, thinking it was a delusional hallucination because of this 'End of the World' malarkey.

He begins to walk away and her book drops from her hand, falling open and wrinkling its pages while her legs bolt towards the front door, unaware that he just disappeared in a hazy fuzz. But by the time she fumbled into the steps, all she could see was a faint outline of an old police box and the distancing sound of waking dreams. She couldn't help but yell out _"DOCTOR!" _But it was as noticeable as the last glimmer of the TARDIS bulb. She swore she saw a _blonde_ man go into the TARDIS, but waved it off her mind.

Then she finds that somehow, the sun has gone down and that she had been standing on the sidewalk all afternoon, she also realised that neighbours are staring out their windows. When she finally got inside, she ran into the living room and looked out the window. But it's all dark now. She stepped back but her hell hits something. The book. It's still on the floor. Picking it up, she looked at its creased pages, refusing to unfold them; an unexpected bookmark for the day she saw The Doctor.

But as she picked up the page, she noticed something between the pages of the book. A small key. Left behind by someone, or something to let her know he is _still_ out there. She breathed in and glanced back at the window into the night, listening for anything that might have placed that key in her book. Nothing came to her ears. She clenched the key in her palm and turned around, ready to head to bed wishing that her dream were actually reality.

She jumped as she heard the sound of the front door closing.

"_Rose! _I'm home! Sorry I'm late… The staff at Torchwood said something about a river monster in Scotland…"

The Doctor, her half human, half Time Lord Doctor, sauntered into the living room, clearly tired from work at Torchwood. He noticed Rose's pale face.

"What's wrong?" He asked, clearly worried.

"Oh, nothin'…" She trailed off. "Did you believe about this 'End of the World' thing?"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment. "If I said "Yes", would you believe me?"

Rose turned to The Doctor and challenged him. "But we're _alive_ today, so that means it's not true."

"I felt it, Rose." The Doctor murmured. "I felt _his_ psychic connection pretty well… And if I can feel it _that_ good, _he _must have been near us… This 'End of the World thing _did _happen. And it must have involved _this _universe." The Doctor hinted at a certain person and Rose had a pretty good idea who it was.

"Was it _him?_" Rose asked, "You know, from the other universe? Did he do something yesterday? Is that why we're alive?"

The Doctor sadly nodded, but smiled. "I _am _good."

"I don't get it... I thought travelling through universes is impossible. Unless..."

"The walls of the universe were slowly breaking as Earth was about to meet its End. I guess must have accidentally fallen through one that was soon closing. He'd better have gone off before it did..."

Rose smiled. He _did_ get himself into more trouble the more he did things.

"Remember, Earth ends on _5.5/Apple/26_. I must have prevented it from ending earlier…" he trailed off.

Rose chuckled at the first part.

"He did it…" She whispered. "That idiot saved Earth again!"


	9. Lottery Tickets

Koschei wondered around the console room and noticed a note on top of the TARDIS console. He picked it up and squinted at the rather messy handwriting.

_Finally tagged you, you cheater. Please drive the TARDIS nicely. Let's pause this little game of ours. I left a winning lottery ticket by the monitor. Can you claim it at any newsagents when you get the time and send me the money to Christ Church in Chiswick? I owe a friend some money. Oh, yeah. There's a wedding so don't be late. Don't worry. This is not a trap._

Koschei rolled his eyes at the last part of the letter. Obviously, The Doctor had something planned for him. Then he noticed: The Doctor? _Planning?_ He chuckled at that concept and released the dematerialise lever. He seemed to be ten steps ahead of The Doctor as the TARDIS was already locked on to the Vortex Manipulator and travelling towards its energy signal.

**~DW~**

The Doctor appeared out of a puff of smoke and people passing by applauded him. For a moment, The Doctor looked at everyone in uncertainty and eventually bowed when he got the idea.

"How did you do that?" A little boy asked in amazement.

"Oh, I can't tell you that! Magicians never give away their secrets." The Doctor suddenly crouched down to meet the child's eye. "But eating a lot of green food gave _me_ powers…" He whispered.

The little boy's eyes glistened with innocence and ran back to his mum. The Doctor smiled as the boy told his mum what he said. She looked back and smiled at The Doctor as they walked away.

The Doctor halted and felt a strong presence in the area. He smirked and walked towards the church.

**~DW~**

The TARDIS landed with a soft thud. She hummed and nudged Koschei's mind, indicating The Doctor wasn't too far. He stepped out of the TARDIS to be greeted by autumn blown at him. Koschei squirmed and brushed them away. Lottery ticket in hand, he walked towards the high street.

**~DW~**

The Doctor spotted the church from a distance and sped up his pace. He thought he saw a familiar glint of blue and then a blonde haired man walking towards him, unaware of his surroundings. The man looked up and his jaw dropped at the sight of The Doctor. Likewise, The Doctor came to an abrupt halt. _How convenient!_ Casually he waved at Koschei, but Koschei returned a look of utter suspicion.

"What time is it?" The Doctor shouted from the other side of the road, as he continued walking towards Koschie. Koschei, confused as he was, scratched his head.

"What?"

"I _said_ "What time is it" The Doctor yelled, emphasising his point by pretending to check the time on his wrist. "I told you we got a wedding to attend!" Koschei laughed.

"I'm not falling for that cheap trick, Theta."

"We're going to be late, Idiot!" The Doctor shouted.

To Koschei's surprise, The Doctor immediately sprinted towards him.

"Is this some kind of a joke?!" Koschei yelled. He readied himself for a tackle of some sort, but The Doctor ran past him…

Absentmindedly, Koschei ran after The Doctor. He found himself in front of a church and The Doctor looked on. A look of disappointment flashed The Doctor's face. "Aw… we missed the ceremony!"

"The what?" Koschei turned to The Doctor. To his surprise, he noticed a newly wed couple walking out of the church entrance. The rest of the attendees were throwing flower petals and taking photos of them. The ginger bride in particular, caught his attention. "Isn't that…?"

"Good guess." The Doctor took the lottery ticket from Koschei and took out a brown envelope from his pocket.

"Wasn't she one of your companions?" Koschei asked.

"Yup." He simply replied, popping the 'p'.

Koschei gestured towards the couple. "Go to her then…"

"I can't." The Doctor said this with steel in his voice. His eyes lowered as guilt and sadness struck his hearts.

Koschei couldn't help but stare at the Time Lord.

"Here you are!" Wilfred Mott and Sylvia Noble approached the surprised Doctor and Koschei. "Same ol' face!" Wilfred pointed at The Doctor. "Didn't I tell you you'd be alright? Oh!" He clapped his hands as he remembered something. "They've arrested Mr Naismith, it was on the _news_! 'Crimes Undisclosed' and his daughter, both of them locked up."

Koschei nodded and hummed in approval.

"Yet- but…" Wilf hesitated. "I keep thinking, Doctor… There's one thing you never told me. That woman… who was she?"

Koschei turned to The Doctor, but he seemed too focused on something else. The Doctor blinked and dug his hands into his pocket. "I just wanted to give you this…" He handed Wilf the brown envelope and wondered what it was. "Wedding present." He simply said and smiled.

Koschei felt slightly uncomfortable being between the conversation and wondered off. He watched The Doctor talk as Sylvia put her hand over her mouth in shock from the name "Jeffrey Noble". He walked back to The Doctor.

"What was that all about?" He asked, curiosity taking over him.

The Doctor didn't reply. He simply nodded his head towards Wilfred and Sylvia walking towards the bride and they both watched.

"A _lottery ticket?! _What a cheap present! Who was that? Still. You never know…"

Koschei grinned as he witnessed the ginger woman pocketing the lottery ticket into her breast.

"You're a _bit_ too quiet, Theta…" Koschei eyed his friend for a moment. He thought he saw a hint of a smile before turning around. He almost forgot something important and smirked. "You know... I'm still 'it'."

"What?"

Before The Doctor could say anything, there was a flash of blonde as Koschei slapped his arm and slipped off the Vortex Manipulator from The Doctor's wrist. "Tag! … You're it!"

He disappeared into a hazy fuzz.


	10. Shoo

**Note: **Merry Christmas, my fellow readers! This is my longest chapter yet, so satisfy your inner Whovian! :"D

Christmas 2012 will never come again (Unless your progression through time isn't linear) so enjoy it while you can! We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one!

And one last thing, I won't be able to publish more chapters later on as I have 3 exams in January to worry about... Ah... 50 academics just punched the air (Not really, haha!)

No I shan't quit my rambling, it's Christmas! (I joke)

Enjoy! :"D

* * *

The TARDIS drifted in orbit around the planet Earth. The Doctor put on his glasses and glared at the monitor in hopes of tracking a signal, but sighed as nothing blipped. He paused for a moment, activated the TARDIS harmonic filters and let the sound of the universe envelope him into a piece of mind. He took off the spectacles and scrunched the bridge of his nose. He felt _tired_…

He jumped as the ringtone of his mobile phone came to life. Cautiously, he stared at the live appliance and hesitated before picking it up.

"Hello?"

The line was silent, but a loud static sound boomed to life. "Doctor! It's me, Martha! Merry Christmas!"

The Doctor smiled. "_Martha Jones!_ What a surprise! Wait, _Christmas?_ It's already Christmas back there? _Brilliant!_ Anyway, how's thing's with UNIT?"

Martha faltered and mumbled. "Not that good actually…"

The Doctor frowned and was about to ask until Martha said something first.

"You technically _still _work for UNIT and well… Colonel Mace wants you to help patrol London during Christmas."

"_What?_" The Doctor blinked. "Why don't you ask Torchwood for help?"

"They _are _helping us… we're just very short on crew members."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"They're on a mission in Scotland. Something about a river monster…" She trailed off. "So what time are you coming?"

"Martha, I'm a _Time Lord_, I can get there before you tell me to get here…" Although The Doctor didn't feel in the zone for her request, he wanted to see Koschei's face when he realises The Doctor isn't chasing him after possibly countless trips around various places in the universe.

"_Good!_ Because Jack's going to be on your squad and you're going to be patrolling the central areas of London." She hung up almost straight away and The Doctor stood, mouth gaped as he forgot about Jack.

"Oh no…"

**~DW~**

Martha smiled as she heard the winding and grinding noise of the TARDIS. It landed with a soft thud and at once, the doors opened and the skinny face of a man popped out.

"Am I glad to see _you_, Doctor!" Martha walked up to the Time Lord and hugged him.

The Doctor hugged her back and noticed Mickey behind Martha. "_Rickey, _my man!"

"It's _Mickey_." He said with a serious tone in his voice. "And I trust you won't go wondering off while we're working?" The Doctor sensed some professionalism in his voice.

"_Nah…_ Why would I miss the chance to reunite with my friends?" At once The Doctor walked towards and gave him a handshake. "Great to see you again." Mickey smiled. The Doctor noticed a ring on his finger and gasped. "Don't tell me… _No…_ You two aren't…" He turned to face Martha.

Martha smiled and lifted her hand; a ring in her finger. At once, The Doctor laughed and straightened his face the moment he saw a look of annoyance that flashed Mickey's face. He cleared his throat and proceeded to business. "So when do I get started?"

"Pretty much _now_ since the rest of the teams split up about 15 minutes ago…" Mickey handed a large gun to Martha, but refused to wield it. The Doctor smiled at that. _She learnt from the best._

"Jack should be here any second…" Martha reminded. The Doctor simply sighed. He already has Mickey, but _Jack _as well?

"No _you _hang up!" As if on cue, Jack approached the three, clearly talking on the phone. "Haha! Like _that's_ gonna happen. No. _You _hang up! I gotta- …" He took the phone away from his ears and stared at it in surprise. "She hung up on me!" Jack spotted The Doctor and playfully smiled as he sauntered next to him. "I missed you…"

_"Stop it." _The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jack.

Jack groaned as he fumbled around in his pockets. He took out four ear communicators and put one on. He dispensed the other three to Mickey, Martha and The Doctor. "Always keep these on. I want us to keep in touch the whole time."

The Doctor frowned. "You make it seem like we're splitting up. We're supposed to go _together_."

Mickey came in and sided with Jack. "Yeah, but I picked up two alien readings within our radius. We might as well split up. That will save more time."

The Doctor nodded.

"Me and Martha will go together…" Mickey walked over to his wife. But before the Doctor tried to intervene, Mickey waved the two off as the couple sped towards a construction site.

"Looks like it's just you and me…" Jack grinned. "In Trafalgar Square…" The Doctor wasn't amused. He thought he heard the sound of a gun click and turned around. Jack waved his gun around and The Doctor scowled.

"You know, guns don't solve _anything…_" He wondered around the square and stopped by a fountain, peering over the water to stare at his reflection.

Jack laughed and holstered the gun. He rocked on his heels and proceeded to sit down by the fountain The Doctor was by. "You know, I haven't forgotten…" The Doctor looked up, confused.

"What?"

"About that Koschei guy. Who exactly is he? Well, I know he was The Master and all-Martha told me. I just wanna know why he became…" Jack figured for a suitable word to describe Koschei, "goody... all of a sudden."

The Doctor took a moment before he spoke. "Actually… He _was _good. Even since the beginning. Used to come over to his place when we were kids and play around in his back yard… Back home…" The Doctor drifted off, sadness and sorrow in his eyes.

Jack noticed this and hesitated, "you don't have to tell me if it gets to you, Doc…"

"No." The Doctor said with steel in his words. "You might as well know since you happened to be one of his victims before…" Jack nodded, remembering the year that never was. "My people, no. The High Council of the Time Lords, they implanted a signal into his head-you know, the drumming noise he used to go on about." Jack nodded. "Drove him insane and he became bad. After that, he seemed to forget we were even best friends…" The Doctor gave a sad smile. "The drumming, or rather the signal to bring back the Time Lords stopped minutes after he sent them back into the Time Lock again. He did it, Jack. He saved Earth." Jack took this opportunity to acknowledge The Master, or rather Koschei.

"I'm sorry…" Jack said.

"For what?"

"For doubting Koschei…" The Doctor nodded at Jack's remark. Jack cleared his throat in attempt to quickly change the subject. "So what do you think it is?"

"What?"

"The aliens… What do you reckon we're facing?"

The Doctor's eyes widened and halted as he simply said "Sontarans."

"That's a bit precise…" Jack's voice faltered as he noticed a blue armoured humanoid figure standing not too far from the two men. It held a gun pointing towards them and Jack heaved a sigh. "Why can't I use my gun in front of you?" Immediately, he yelled as he ran towards The Doctor and pushed him out of the way into the fountain, arms spread out as he took the shot.

The Sontaran ran away.

**~DW~**

Jack gasped as he thrust himself forward. He studied himself and moaned when he noticed his blood stained shirt. He looked up and The Doctor stood there, soaking wet and certainly not happy. He clambered to his feet. "You're wet," he feebly smiled.

"I gathered…" The Doctor ruffled his flattened hair and it became the usual spiky. "Thanks," he discretely said. "For saving me I mean…" He frowned at the heaviness of his wet clothes.

"What happened while I was out?" Jack asked, still dazed from his resurrection.

"The Sontaran ran away." He simply replied. "It went in Martha and Mickey's direction… We better get there now."

And with that, The Doctor and Jack trudged towards the construction site.

**~DW~**

Martha sprinted away from gunshots. She ran through scaffolds attempting to make it harder for the enemy and spotted Mickey.

"I told you to stay behind," Mickey said rather annoyed.

"Said the one who told me to go freelance," Martha fought back, panting.

"Yeah, well… we're being fired at by a Sontaran…" Mickey panted. "They dumped me with a _gun_! This is no place for a mad woman." He teased.

"Well then…" Martha turned to Mickey. "You shouldn't have married me."

The couple laughed as Mickey beckoned her to come to him. Martha ran to him and they huddled behind the wall.

**~DW~**

Thanks to The Doctor, his sonic screwdriver picked up the Sontaran's signal. They followed it to a construction site only to find it aiming it's gun. Jack peered and noticed Martha and Mickey was in the direction of the gun about 20 meters away from the Sontaran's position. He looked desperately at The Doctor and mimed a gun to his head with his hands. The Doctor frowned and shook his head. He whispered for Jack to stay there as he neared the Sontaran.

_"Have you got something to hit with?" _The Time Lord mouthed. Jack pointed at his gun but to his annoyance, The Doctor frowned, yet again. The Sontaran licked his lips as he aimed for Martha's head. Jack saw this and mouthed _"Do something, idiot!"_ The Doctor was _utterly _clueless and since improvising was what he did best, he took off his still wet shoe and walloped the back of the Sontaran's neck. It collapsed as The Doctor let out a manic laugh. "I didn't get to say, "shoo"," he panted. "You know, shoe, shoo, play on words. D'you think I should've said "shoo"?"

"_No._" Jack sighed.

The Doctor peered over to where Martha and Mickey was and shouted. "_Martha! Mickey!_ It's me! I'm still alive! Can you see me from there?!"

Martha looked up. She pulled a face and squinted at a jumping, yelling figure in the distance. She sighed and pointed. "Is that? What's he saying?!"

Mickey was too occupied with something else, but the noise emanating from the distance was putting him off. "I dunno… He's like really up there. He's giving away our position. We should move."

They scuttled away and The Doctor moaned in disappointment. Jack went over to The Doctor and tugged his wet sleeve. "We better follow them…"

**~DW~**

Martha and Mickey entered the building and cautiously scanned the area.

"I'm picking up a strong but unknown alien signal here… be careful Martha," he carried his gun higher and steadily walked around the building with Martha in tow. Martha peered into a room and gasped. Immediately, Mickey turned to Martha, released the safety catch on the gun and swivelled into the room, gun pointing to a blonde haired man… eating a _McDonalds_ meal. "Is _this _some kind of joke?!" Mickey exclaimed. The man looked up in surprise, took a nervous last bite of his Big Mac burger, scrunched up a paper bag and tossed it to his side. He stood up and noticed the gun Mickey wielded and put his hands up.

"Hello!" The man said.

"Oh my God, it's _you!_" Martha gasped. "You're-"

Martha was cut off as there was a sound of cracking behind the wall on her left. Followed by a high-pitched sound and the wall exploded as the silhouette of a tall lanky man appeared in the debris. "Now _that_ is what I call 'Resonating concrete'!"

"_Doctor?!_" Martha squealed.

The Doctor stood among the rubble brushing off dirt from his suit and laughed with the air of a man who couldn't quite believe what he had just done.

"What the _hell _was that?!" Jack burst into the room and his eyes widened at the sight of The Doctor. "Oh my God, Doctor. _"Discrete"!_ I told you to be _discreet!_" He face palmed as Martha stepped forward.

"You're wet, Doctor… What were you two doing while me and Mickey was here?"

The Doctor nervously smiled, "long story's short, we saw a Sontaran, Sontaran had a gun, Jack shielded me from a shot and I was pushed into a fountain…"

Mickey frowned and rambled endlessly. The Doctor, obviously not listening, scratched the back of his head. His eyes widened when he spotted a blonde haired man in a grey long coat. Likewise, the man came to an abrupt halt and stared back at The Doctor.

"Doctor, are you listening to me?" Martha, Jack and Mickey looked at The Doctor, Mickey in particular looking rather annoyed.

Within a split second, the two Time Lords legged it out of the building through the hole where The Doctor made his 'dynamic entry'. The Doctor focused on Koschei and shook his head as he thought he heard someone shout his name.

Koschei was surprisingly _fast_ and The Doctor knew he wouldn't be able to keep up any longer. _Damn!_ _Time Lords and their superhuman stamina!_

"You know…" The Doctor began panting, "we could stop for a bit… and…" The Doctor felt his legs starting to fail, "bring this little game of ours to an end…" The Doctor stopped, unable to match his superhuman stamina to Koschei's.

Koschei laughed and slowed down, leaving a safe distance between him and his friend. "You just don't wanna accept defeat!" Koschei teased. He searched his pockets for the Vortex Manipulator, but didn't notice The Doctor lunging at him.

"Too late!" The Doctor yelled, knowing he would tag Koschei.

Koschei smirked and swiftly side stepped. The Doctor stumbled and fell well past Koschei.

"Losers will always be losers. That will never change." Koschei mocked. The Doctor frowned. "Let me just ask you this… why do you try so hard to fight against your _fate_?" Koschei laughed at The Doctor, who stood up and raised his chest with pride.

"Because I was called a loser." He said with weight in his tone, then smiled.

In one swift motion, The Doctor dived at Koschei and slapped his back as he swiped the Vortex Manipulator from his back pocket.

"Tag! You're it! _Ha!_" The Doctor laughed in victory. "Oh, and never leave things in your back pocket." Waggling the Vortex Manipulator in front of Koschei. "Especially when Jack is near us… Ah! I almost forgot! Merry Christmas, Shay!"

And within a split second, The Doctor disappeared with a _zap_.


	11. Watch Out! Wilf's About

**Note: **Wow, I had this strange idea whilst I was in the middle of a crowd of people in Oxford Street today. Word of advice for those going to London on Boxing Day: BEWARE OF WHAT YOU WILL GET YOURSELF INTO.

Now that I warned you, enjoy! :)

* * *

The Doctor appeared out of a puff of smoke and found himself wedged in a teaming throng of shoppers. _Way to appear discretely…_ Truthfully, no one seemed to even _bother_ noticing a strange man appear out of nowhere. He squirmed as the current of people washed him into a clothes shop.

Primark wasn't exactly a classy place to shop, but the 50% off sales managed to drag countless bargain hunters.

"Excuse me!" The Doctor called out to the store security guard. He looked at The Doctor with a scowl.

"For the last time! Whatever's on the rails is what we only have! So don't bother asking for sizes!" The man yelled in a strong Scottish accent.

The Doctor blinked at the stressed man. "Actually, I just wanted to know what day it is…"

"_Blimey_, how many pints didya gulp down that skinny frame of yours?" The guard laughed.

The Doctor went along with the flow and gave a wry smile.

"Monday. Monday 26th December. Box-"

Boxing Day!" He suddenly interrupted. Instantly, the man gave a very childish grin. "Brilliant! What is it you young humans think? That's right! You think Boxing Day is all about boxing. Ha! Your minds are so limited; I still don't know why I like you…" The Doctor stopped as confusion flashed the security guards face. "Ah… _that_ explains to dozens of shoppers…" He rocked on his heels and waved the man off.

The Doctor stood among countless determined shoppers in the middle of Primark, realisation slapping him across the face as he became conscious of what exactly he got himself into.

He was the master of escape, but the situation he found himself in was rather new... It was easy. Get cornered by a Dalek, find a way to disable it's eyestalk and leg it. Getting chased by a throng of Sontarans, find a way to hit their probic vents... He muttured under his breath, scrunching his face in deep concentration as he wriggled his way past shoppers. He didn't notice some clothes and hangers on the floor and slipped on them, tumbling out of the store and outside on the pavement. If it weren't for his reflexes, he would have smashed his face on the ground. He liked his face...

"_What the hell,_" A voice came from above him, it was Sylvia Noble, accompanied by none only but Wilfred Mott. "What's wrong with you?"

"_Wilfred Mott!_" The Doctor smiled, oblivious of the annoyed Sylvia Noble. His tone changed, "That…" He pointed at Primark, still on the pavement. "You humans..."

Wilf laughed at him. "Nothing beats a 50% sale."

The Doctor brushed his suit and coat before looking at the shop. He noticed a familiar blonde haired man inside the shop, squeezing his way around the crowds of people. He smiled. He turned to Wilf and Sylvia. "Would you mind doing me a favour?"

**~DW~**

Koschei knew he traced the Vortex Manipulator signal inside this shop. The Doctor was clever to hide in an area with massive numbers of people to take cover in. Any minute now, he could possibly jump out at him and scare him… With this, Koschei became even wary. He wriggled through a couple who blatantly didn't know where to find a room and writhed between a man reaching for something and a woman bending down to try on some shoes.

Koschei turned around as he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. "S'cuse me," To his surprise, it was Wilfred Mott. He held a bright red dress. "Would you mind trying this on?" Indicating the dress, "I promised to get my daughter a nice dress but she's not with me at the moment and you happen to have a similar build as her… without the breasts of course."

The Time Lord blinked at the old man in surprise. Surely the he could see that he was by far, not a woman. He cursed in Gallifreyan as he absentmindedly nodded at Wilf. His now free mind was surely being _too_ kind, thanks to him chucking the Time Lords back into the Time Lock and removing the source of his insanity.

"Good! The fitting rooms are over there."

**~DW~**

Koschei trudged out of his changing cubicle, clad with a bright red dress that was painfully tight around his torso. His face the same shade as the dress.

Wilf pursed his lips, trying not to laugh. "That looks wonderful! Even the fitting looks perfect!" He said it successfully with a straight face.

"What?" Koschei obviously wanted to poke some sense into the man. He was _suffocating_ in this. Any minute now, his respiratory bypass system would kick in…

He frowned as he thought he heard snickering in the other changing cubicles. Soon, the old man burst out laughing and Koschei scowled. A cubicle door burst open and a brown spiky haired man came out clutching his sides from excess laughter. Koschei squirmed as his body had the urge to run back into the changing cubicle for cover, but stayed his ground because he was a meter away from tagging the Time Lord. Embarrassment conquered the poor man and he wanted to get this over and done with. At once, Koschei threw himself at The Doctor but he disappeared in a puff of smoke.


	12. Two Letters Too Long

The Doctor found himself in Astrios. The planet once devastated by a nuclear war, and now fully recovered. The planet brimmed with excitation and humans (surprise). The Time Lord thanked the Vortex Manipulator for bringing him somewhere he almost forgot about. He took this as an opportunity to wander about the planet's high streets. Frankly, this world resembled Earth, except Earth didn't have purple trees and excess mountains.

The Doctor stopped at a market stall selling jewellery, watches and other gold ware.

That's strange… The Doctor swore he felt a Time Lord's presence. _Koschei must be close..._

He raised his eye brow at a certain item that caught his short attention span and suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.

**~DW~**

Koschei was flung inside the TARDIS as he hurtled through the Time Vortex. He managed to lock onto the Vortex Manipulator and felt a sense of worry from the TARDIS. He frowned.

The TARDIS landed and Koschei picked himself up. He brushed his clothes and began for the door.

_"I remember doing the Time Warp, drinking those moments when…"_

Koschei halted and a look of confusion flashed his face.

_"The blackness would hit me and the void would be calling, let's do the time warp again..."_

He noticed The Doctor's phone on top of the console ringing and burst out laughing at the ringtone. He proceeded to the door, not allowing _anything_ to get in the way of his game.

_"Let's do the time warp again!"_

The TARDIS hummed in desperation.

"Okay, okay! I'm picking it up!" Koschei went for the phone and answered the call, wondering who in this time would call The Doctor. Funny. The owner of the phone calls himself.

"Koschei, it's me."

"_Nice ringtone_." He replied, trying to hold in his laughter.

"Nice _dress_ back there," The Doctor fought back. He could almost _see_ Koschei turning red. Koschei cleared his throat in an attempt to change the topic.

"How are you calling this phone from another planet?"

"Astrios happens to have pay phones with universal roaming."

"Ah… that explains a lot…"

"Anyway…" The Doctor's voice changed to a serious tone. "There's something I want you to see…"

Koschei's eyes narrowed. "This isn't one of your tricks is it? Otherwise, there's something wrong because when you talk serious or normal, something bad seems to happen…"

"You know me too well, Koschei. I found something but it seems sort of…" The Doctor trailed off, obviously distracted by something.

Koschei thought the lines got cut off. "Hello?" He attempted to see if this wasn't the case.

There was a brief silence between the lines before The Doctor suddenly spoke. "I hear something…"

"What?"

"Shay, can't you feel something strange? Nothing... _familiar?_"

"Theta, what is going on?"

There was another pause, before The Doctor spoke out. "I've always thought there was another Time Lord stalking me, but assumed it was you…"

Koschei rolled his eyes. "Get to the point." he growled.

"Yes, yes. You see I've sensed this other Time Lord presence…" He hesitated. "But that's _impossible_…"

Koschei raised his brow. "Go on…"

The Doctor stopped in thought and finally concluded. "I think we should halt this game of tag for a bit."

Koschei laughed, "I knew it! You're up to something aren't you, you cheater-"

"Shay, this is serious."

Koschei stopped and hesitated. He seemed almost a bit worried at what The Doctor wanted to put out.

"I think we're not the only ones…"

**~DW~**

The Doctor started on a hunt. It felt like luck. All these years thinking he was alone and here comes Koschei. And to think there's a chance that there's _another_ Time Lord brought light to hope. The Doctor smiled and quickened his pace. He raised his sonic screwdriver in an attempt to make the hunt a little easier. He managed to lock onto a Time Lord signal. It blipped faster and he came to a point where he was running. The blipping became very frequent as the Time Lord zigzagged through alleyways, streets and pathways. The blipping stopped and he found himself in an opening behind a block of accommodation apartments. To his utter disappointment, he moaned as he found himself in front of the TARDIS. He scowled at his sonic device as the TARDIS door opened and Koschei strode out. He stopped when he spotted The Doctor and looked intently at him.

"Please tell me this is true… It would be a _sick_ joke if it wasn't."

The Doctor frowned. "It's real alright…" He held out a fob watch in front of Koschei. His eyes widened in shock. There was no mistake that the watch was in fact Gallifreyan.

"Has it been opened?" He asked.

"Yeah. Actually, I thought it wasn't opened because I was detecting a low level telepathic voice from it but I was hearing it somewhere else. It was definitely Time Lord…" He murmured the last part.

"Is the Time Lord on this planet right now?" Koschei asked.

"No, I don't think so… The sonic picked something up but it lead me to you," He said sheepishly.

Koschei laughed. "We should find this Time Lord before anything happens."

The Doctor nodded. "Wait, I just need to find something out…" And with that he ambled back towards the market square with Koschei on tow.

**~DW~**

"I'm telling you, these products are genuine. They are from different planets and what makes them more valuable is that they are from different points in time." The alien running the market gestured at his products as if encouraging the Time Lords to buy them. Their brows furrowed at that last part.

"Okay, but could you tell me where you found this fob watch?" The Doctor produced the watch from his pocket.

"Ah! One of my collectors found it in a space ship crash site on Earth 3054. We don't know much about it. Even my historians can't seem to decipher the inscriptions on it. The only things they were able to make out were the words "human" and "time". The rest just gets hazy. In the end we didn't think it would have been worth much since it was only made of a steel alloy usually found on Earth… You're lucky I gave that to you free of charge."

Koschei grinned. "Well, thank you for you help!"

The two Time Lords flitted away from the market square and headed back towards the TARDIS.

"Looks like we're off to Earth _again_." Koschei sighed.

"Yup," The Doctor replied, popping the 'p'. Excitement flashed him, and he looked up in realisation. "No wonder I could still feel this Time Lord! Astrios isn't _that _far from Earth..."

Koschei looked at The Doctor. "Theta. Astrios is _four_ lightyears away from Earth."

"Ah... That's another mystery we can solve." The Doctor weakly replied.

"Doesn't it seem odd to you? I thought all the Time Lords are gone… _We _are the only ones left. We even saw it with our own eyes. And like you said, 'that's _impossible'_."

The Doctor looked at his friend. He gave a warm smile. "I take back what I said. Impossible is two letters too long for my liking."

* * *

**Note: **I have been meaning to get this story moving onto the serious part now. Hopefully it wasn't too drastic of a transition! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!

Okay. Should I continue this story in a separate story? Or keep it as 'The Tenth Hour'?

As usual, I like comments! :D

Oh! I'll be on a break for the meantime, so expect less frequent updates. But don't worry! I won't be neglecting this story! In fact, I'm actually writing up some drafts for future chapters, haha! :3

And on a final note, I hope you had a _brilliant _Christmas!


	13. Happy New Year!

**Note: **Happy new year, guys! :D

This chapter took quite long to do and I have a feeling the rest will take just as long...

Anyway, enjoy this chapter! Consider it as your new years day gift :)

* * *

"_Woah! _Steady does it!" The Doctor clung onto the console. Something was wrong with the TARDIS. He reached for the mallet underneath but a sudden jerk flung him in the opposite direction.

"Maybe if you didn't hit her with a mallet, your journeys would have gone smoother." Koschei called out, grasping one of the coral columns. The TARDIS hummed in agreement.

The Doctor scowled at Koschei's remark. He crawled towards the console and grabbed the gyroscopic stabilisers and reached the space/time throttles with his foot. Koschei ran towards the console to help his friend. There was a streak of worry on The Doctor's face.

"We're hurtling bloody fast through the Time Vortex…" He shouted, uncertainty in his tone. Koschei grew even more worried. The Doctor _loved_ the fast and unsmooth rides in the TARDIS. But to think he was _worried_ about this particular journey frightened Koschei.

The TARDIS let out a scream. He couldn't take it. Immediately, The Doctor reached for the handbrakes but Koschei obstructed him. "Theta, don't! I don't think it's safe to stop her at a time like this."

The Doctor frowned and eventually sighed. "Something's wrong, Shay. The TARDIS has never done this before. It's like…" He fumbled for words. "It's like she's _struggling_ to fly… And it's _hurting_ her."

Koschei looked at The Doctor. He was in a dishevelled state. He ran his hands through his hair, making it even more messy. His eyes showed a streak of hurt-Judging from The Doctor's strong symbiotic link with the TARDIS, it was perfectly understandable.

_"Pull the brakes, Theta." _Koschei telepathically said.

The Doctor looked up from and smiled at his friend in thanks. Before he reached for the lever, the TARDIS came to an abrupt halt and the two Time Lords fell on their backs.

"We stopped," Koschei said in surprise.

"I didn't do it," The Doctor muttered. He slumped against the console and clenched his fists. He breathed out in an attempt to calm himself down. His mind felt a nudge from the TARDIS, as if she was urging him to go away.

Koschei noticed The Doctor's white knuckles. "Theta, what's wrong?"

The Doctor paused in deep thought. He shrugged off the TARDIS' nudges and smiled at Koschei. "Nothing! Actually, she wants us to bugger off. I mean the TARDIS wants us to leave her heal." Koschei frowned. _Why was The Doctor happy about that? _

Immediately, The Doctor picked up Koschei's thoughts and stood up, brushing his suit. "And when the TARDIS wants us to leave, that means we got a whole new world to explore." He pointed his head towards the doors. "Behind those doors, we could do anything. How about that, Shay? Just like old times"

Koschei wasn't amused. "This is _Earth_. We already know what to see-"

The Doctor tore his vision from the monitor and gave a manic grin. "Ah! But here's the good bit," The Doctor objected as he put on his long coat and hoped for the doors. "We've landed in Earth 3054! We can find our Time Lord! And the best thing is, I haven't been to Earth _3054_, _we-ell…_" He trailed off. "I was on my way there once, but the Titanic crashed into the TARDIS…"

"The _Titanic_." Koschei said in disbelief.

"Yup!" He replied, popping the 'p'. "Earth 3054! The era where humans and aliens work together to develop the cure for cancer! The time where space travel expands to five more galaxies and alien slave trade gets banned thanks to a certain bunch of freedom fighters." The Doctor bound up towards the door. "Behold…" He grabbed the doors with both hands, "Earth 3054…" He pulled the doors and his eyes widened. "What?"

Koschei stood beside The Doctor and followed his gaze. He frowned. "I thought humans and aliens are working together…"

They witnessed a group of people with obscene signs shouting crude sentences. A hooded figure rushed past the group but fell over. A teenage boy from the group went over to help them up but scowled and let him go, dropping person on the ground with a thud. The person's hood fell down, revealing the face of a Vincocci. His green face flashed fear as he winced from the pain of the fall. "What the hell, get away from me you filthy alien trash. Go fly back to your home planet!" And with that, the boy spat on the alien and walked back to his group. They jeered at the alien and showered it with a rain of insults.

The Doctor scowled in disgust and walked out of the TARDIS to teach those people a lesson. Likewise, Koschei followed him. In his previous life as The Master, he tortured, beat and even killed many beings thanks to the influence of his insanity. He wasn't going to see any more of that.

"Hey!" The Doctor heard an American voice and stopped. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size. You _disgust_ me." A tall, well built man walked towards the teenage gang, his grey military coat trailing behind him.

"Oh! You're on _their_ side?" The boy sneered. "You don't deserve to be called a human."

The man laughed. "Is your name Barney Collins by any chance?"

"Yeah… Why?"

"Your reputation recedes you," Jack smiled playfully.

Barney smiled back. "Thank you."

"Now _scram_!" The man yelled.

The boy glared at the man and turned to his group. "Oi, let's leave this pile of crap. I'm wasting my time 'ere!"

The group walked away laughing and shooting quick glances at the man.

"_Jack?!_"

The man turned around and spotted The Doctor. He gave a playful smile and ran to The Doctor, wrapping him in a hug. He let out a very relieved sigh, "am I so glad to finally see you." He noticed Koschei and frowned. Jack released The Doctor and looked at Koschei from head to toe. "Koschei?"

Koschei nodded and smiled. "Hope I didn't cause you much distress the last time we met," he scratched the back of his head. Jack shrugged a thought off and smiled at the Time Lord.

"Nonsense." He hugged Koschei. "I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself. Captain Jack Harkness," He gave Koschei a playful smile.

"Stop it." Jack turned to The Doctor and rolled his eyes. "What's up with _him_?" The Doctor lowered and pointed his head at the Vinvocci who had picked himself up and began making a quick getaway.

The three men approached the alien.

"Hey, hope those guys didn't cause too much of a problem for you. I have a place for you to stay. Don't worry, it's free of charge." Jack reassured.

To The Doctor's surprise, the alien hesitated. He whimpered in fear and legged it away from Jack.

"Way to go, Jack. Your offer was turned down. You're losing your touch," The Doctor teased.

Jack frowned and a tone of serious could be heard in his voice. "This is serious, Doctor. Earth has been anti-alien for the past century and stranded aliens are facing more discrimination than people with certain religions or other issues put together. This is no time to joke."

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, but faltered. Surely, future Earth was a planet of prosperity with the alliance of aliens. He cleared his throat. "We should go after that alien…"

Jack nodded and the three men sauntered in the direction the alien took.

**~DW~**

"How ironic," Koschei said, breaking the silence. "We landed in _Wales_…"

The Doctor chuckled.

"So… Out of all the planets and moons and galaxies and time streams, what brings you here?" Jack asked.

"Oh, the usual…" The Doctor trailed off. "Curiosity." He simply said.

Koschei looked at The Doctor. _"Aren't you going to tell him about you know what?"_

Jack picked up the telepathic call. "You know _who_?" He raised a brow in curiosity.

"We have a _psi-sensitive_ being here, Shay." The Doctor sighed, as if pointing the most obvious.

"Oh…" Koschei sheepishly looked at the ground. "Whoops"

The Doctor turned to Jack. "Can't you sense any weird presence? Anything… Time Lordey?"

"Yeah, you two." Jack replied.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, apart from us."

"Well, you can't expect me to sense _everything_… especially when I'm being surrounded by aliens and humans."

"He's got a point," Koschei said.

"Oh yeah," Jack opened out his hand in front of The Doctor. "I still haven't forgotten."

The Doctor gave him a confused look, "what?"

"Vortex Manipulator. _Now_. I've been waiting for 1008 years for that."

Koschei grinned. The Doctor rolled his eyes as he rummaged through his pockets and produced the Vortex Manipulator.

Something struck Jack. "Wait, what the hell were you doing with my Vortex Manipulator for 1008 years?"

"Ah," The Doctor mumbled.

Something beeped and Jack immediately rummaged through his pockets. He smiled as he picked up a device. "Looking on the bright side, my tracker managed to lock on that Vinvocci. I guess this is where we depart again, I assume?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, we're on our own little hunt. We'll leave you to find that alien."

"It's nice meeting you again," Koschei put in.

Jack smiled at both Time Lords and set off on a sprint, waving them goodbye.

**~DW~**

"You got any idea how we're gonna find this Time Lord?" Koschei munched some chips he bought from the nearest fish and chips bar. He insisted on getting his friend some food but refused his offer. Someday, The Doctor _will_ fill that skinny frame of his.

The Doctor mumbled as he fumbled with the sonic screwdriver. It gave a reassuring blip and he hummed in approval. To conclude, he answered Koschei's question by waving the sonic in front of his friend's face. "Yup!"

At once they set off through the high streets of Wales. They passed a couple of anti-alien groups and some protestors in front of the town hall.

_"Thank Omega these humans can't notice us as aliens…"_

The Doctor picked up on Koschei's thoughts. _"Humans look like us."_

Koschei grinned at The Doctor's thought.

The Doctor frowned as the sonic brought them back to where they started. Koschei looked at The Doctor.

"You _don't_ know how to track the Time Lord, don't you?"

The Doctor ignored Koschei's remark and focused on his sonic screwdriver. "This doesn't make any sense. It's detecting the psychic frequency given off from the Time Lord via the pocket watch. But why did it lead us to the same place? Unless there was another level or some sort of…" The Doctor trailed off as he looked below his feet. He spotted a drain, "_sewer_…"

**~DW~**

"I can't believe you actually managed to drag me into a sewer…" Koschei moaned as he limited his superior Time Lord senses. Having a highly sensitive sense of smell with the stench of the sewers instantly made him tear up.

The Doctor and Koschei sauntered through the intricate maze of the sewers. The sonic screwdriver began blipping quite fast the further the two Time Lords ventured into the sewers.

"What kind of Time Lord lives in the _sewers_?" Koschei murmured.

The Doctor looked at Koschei. "Shay, Earth, for some odd reason, has gone _anti-alien_ and humans would do anything to get rid of any alien they see. No one likes living in sewers. Get a little perspective."

Koschei frowned at the last part but tore his attention to a read rat he nearly stepped on. He grimaced, "let's just find this Time Lord and get this over with…" A thought struck his mind, "you know, when we _do _find this Time Lord, what are we gonna do?"

"Well…" The Doctor scratched his ear. "It really depends on _who_ the Time Lord actually is… I was planning to resume our game of Tag with an added player, but we don't have enough time travelling transport for the three of us, thanks to Jack taking back his Vortex Manipulator and a certain _someone_ who destroyed their TARDIS on Traken."

Koschei glared at The Doctor. Frankly, he was fed up of the verbal jabs he was sending recently and simply punched his friends arm.

"_Ow!_ That really hurt," The Doctor moaned. Before he could say anything, the sonic blipped. "Our Time Lord is just ahead of this junction…"

Koschei sighed. He never took this seriously until now. What if the Time Lord lashed out at him for who he used to be, unaware that he has changed, become freed of the psychic compulsions Rassilon himself placed in his mind to drive him insane? He agreed that he had committed so much evil as The Master, but would the Time Lord accept him as Koschei? Dwelling on his past, he came to a conclusion. "I'm such a _bastard_…"

The Doctor turned to Koschei from the sudden statement. "What makes you say that?"

"_Nine hundred _years, Theta. For nearly nine hundred years, I was that bastard who enjoyed watching others suffer. Who enjoyed taking over worlds to see people cry for mercy at his feet. That _bastard_ who _enjoyed _torturing people for his goddamn pleasure." Koschei was shouting now and noticed The Doctor's scared expression. He calmed down a little. "What if this Time Lord will _hate _me?" His hearts ached at another though, "I bet you he's been one of those _countless_ victims who have fallen in my hands… _Nine hundred _years…" He laughed.

The Doctor stared at his friend with utter sympathy. "Who knows you more than anyone in this universe, Shay?"

Koschei simply shrugged his shoulders, looking down and trying not to look at The Doctor after expressing his feelings.

"Me." The Doctor simply replied. With that, Koschei's eyes bore The Doctor's. "I knew you more than anyone in _all _the universes put together, if there _are_ more than two universes that I know of…" Koschei chuckled at The Doctor's babbling. "I bet you a lifetime supply of bananas, that I'm the only being in this whole universe who has suffered the most from you…" Koschei winced at that. "And I forgave you for everything."

Koschei smiled. "Theta, you are brilliant. But I don't think that will change this Time Lord's views of me…"

"Oh, shut up, Shay. You've been nothing but good to everyone lately."

Koschei laughed. He thanked the Stars he had a true friend.

**~DW~**

The sonic screwdriver stopped blipping and The Doctor looked at Koschei.

"This is it…"

Koschei chuckled silently. "I'm kinda nervous…"

The Doctor laughed. "What kind of a Time Lord isn't nervous before they meet another one of their kind, thinking they were the last ones left?"

They halted as they heard a voice, followed by other voices. The closer they neared the source, the more familiar the voice became. Koschei mouthed, "Is that who I think it is?" The Doctor raised a brow and continued to listen on the conversation.

"There was no point in running," the voice laughed. "Don't worry you're safe… that's if you come with me. Your friend can come as well. I work for Torchwood…"

Koschei and The Doctor exchanged glances.

"Jack?" The Doctor called out.

The two Time Lords walked out of their hiding places and met the man's eyes. He smiled, "well if it isn't my two favourite men…"

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor was just as confused as Jack.

"I found my alien," Jack pointed towards the green alien. "He's got a friend, too."

The Doctor turned to the Vinvocci, then his eyes followed to the other alien, a humanoid creature, and they widened. Unaware of his fast beating hearts, he turned to Koschei. "I think we found him…"

Koschei followed his gaze and stared at the other alien. "He looks Time Lord," he whispered. "You know him?"

The alien looked at The Doctor, his eyes showed remorse. "Don't tell me it's _you_…" Koschei assumed the Time Lord was talking to him and hesitated.

"Listen, I can explain-"

"_Brax?_" The Doctor exclaimed. "Irving Braxiatel? _My_ Brax?"

"_Theta_…" the Time Lord gasped.

A tear welled from The Doctor's eyes and he frowned. "I thought you were gone, I activated The Moment. You were supposed to be in the Time Lock! This isn't even possible, me and Shay are supposed to be the last ones. I saw you stay on Gallifrey, whilst I was escaping. You _let_ me flee when you had orders to stop me." He began shouting, but not out of anger. He didn't like thinking about things he didn't understand.

"Doctor!" Jack stopped The Doctor. "Can you explain to me what the _hell_ is going on?"

The Doctor glared at Jack. He shut his eyes and let out a deep breath.

The Time Lord hesitated and spoke, "just give me the chance to explain everything. I know you don't like thinking about things you don't understand."

"It's really you…" The Doctor gasped. There was a small hint of a smile but The Doctor did a good job of covering it.

**~DW~**

"So you're also a Time Lord?" Jack asked.

Jack encouraged everyone to go to the Torchwood Hub. He _hated_ the sewers and if there was going to be a long conversation, it might as well have been done in a nicer and safer environment. The Torchwood crew were a little edgy having more aliens shelter at the hub, but shrugged it off after some hours.

"Yes. My name is Irving Braxiatel of the Prydonian House. Also formerly known as Brax." He replied in a formal Gallifreyan gesture.

"No need to speak all high and mighty, Gallifrey's gone…" The Doctor murmured.

"So I was told," Brax replied.

Koschei's eyebrows rose. "Prydonian House? _That's_ familiar…" He grinned. "So who is he, Doctor?" Already, Koschei caught onto something. He _is_ clever after all.

"My older brother," The Doctor murmured.

Jack's eyebrows shot up and laughed. The laughter died down the moment The Doctor shot him down with a glare.

Brax's eyes bore Koschei's. "Speaking of familiar. _You_ seem familiar."

Koschei shuffled his feet. "You won't believe me if I told you…"

Brax was doing a good job of containing his anger at The Master. The Doctor felt a hefty amount of hatred emanating from his brother's psyche and interrupted.

"Compulsions," he chipped in. Brax turned to The Doctor. "His mind was ripped apart by Rassilon himself and he retroactively implanted a signal in his mind, driving him insane since he was eight years old. All just to escape the Time Lock…"

Koschei felt awkward. It was weird hearing The Doctor talk about him like that. Brax nodded in total understanding and acknowledged Koschei a little bit. "I'm sorry." He said firmly. The Doctor sighed in relief. Then he looked at Brax.

"Now I explained everything I know to you, are you going to tell me how you're still here?"

Brax nodded. "Three years before the Time War, I encountered a Time Lady from the future. Larna, her name was. She told me to flee the Time War. Thing is, I was told to keep this a secret. Even from you." Brax looked at the two Time Lords in confusion. The Doctor swore he looked at Koschei first. "It's strange because I was told I would meet a Time Lord in the future… She never mentioned _two_ Time Lords."

The Doctor and Koschei exchanged glances. "How do you know if you could trust that Time Lady?"

"For starters, everything she said so far was true. She also told me she was a Seer."

"Oh…" The Doctor trailed off. "How long has it been since you opened the watch?"

Brax knew what his brother meant. "Two years, seven months, three days 4 minutes and 27 seconds. I thought I was alone in this universe. But that was when I felt another psychic link but shrugged it off since this planet is heaving with aliens."

"Oh! You must have detected _me_!" The Doctor pointed at himself. "No wonder I can sense you! The mysterious Time Lord was in fact a blood relative. _You_!"

"Explains a lot…" Koschei trailed off.

"I turned human just before I was fleeing Gallifrey. When I found myself on Earth, I was just another person in a crowd. That was until I found this watch and opened it… Turns out being enshrouded by "gold dust" during biological transformation meant I was an alien threat to Earth… So I hid in the sewers and met Addams, the Vinvocci you must have encountered."

"That must have been a hard two years…" The Doctor grimly said. "To think you were alone… But wait, you still haven't told us how you escaped the Time Lock."

Brax laughed. "Oh, this was actually quite funny. I was in my TARDIS setting my co ordinates to flee from the war and a Weeping Angel, probably lost in battle, somehow got into my TARDIS… next thing I knew, I was in the nearest galaxy from my original position…"

"Out of all the Time Lords, who knew it would have been _you _to escape…" The Doctor trailed off.

Koschei turned to The Doctor, "Isn't it good? You finally get to be with your brother again."

The Doctor plainly looked at Koschei and suddenly smiled. "Yeah, yeah it is."

"So what are you going to do now?" The three Time Lords forgot Jack was in the room. The Doctor hesitated; he looked at Brax and finally spoke.

"Come with us. You, Koschei, and me, we'll see the stars again and there's nothing that will get in our way. No High Council to stop us. Shame we can't play tag, but still!" The Doctor almost seemed over excited.

Brax smiled. "If it means being with my little brother, I wouldn't dare miss the chance." The Doctor smiled.

Everyone stood up and Jack offered his hand to The Doctor.

"Well, I guess this means goodbye?" He shook The Doctor's hand, followed by the other two Time Lords. Before The Doctor objected, Jack reassured the Time Lord. "Don't worry, Doc, my new crew is just as brilliant. Nothing can stop us just because Earth has gone anti-alien." The Doctor grinned.

**~DW~**

Jack escorted everyone out of the Hub, making sure no one spots them before making a casual entry. He didn't want anyone knowing the entrance to Torchwood… Brax said his goodbyes to Addams and the Time Lords were off.

The Doctor was the first to approach the open grounds in front of the Millennium Centre. He bound onto the pavement, hands in pockets and his coat drifting in his direction smelling the fresh air. He glanced up at the pitch-black sky and spotted fireworks painting the black canvas of the sky. Thanks to his superior Time Lord senses, he heard faint shouts of _"happy new year!" _from a pub not too far from where he was.

"It's New Year already?" He blinked.

"Yeah, forgot to tell you that," came the American reply and The Doctor looked back at Jack and the other Time Lords.

"Happy new year, Earth 3055…" He murmured. He saw the TARDIS in view and smiled as he felt a psychic nudge from her, meaning she was ready to fly. He smiled.

"Is that your TARDIS?" Brax asked. "I'm surprised no one has noticed it, even with it's perception filters on. A police box doesn't really blend in with future Earth-"

Koschei chipped in, "her chameleon circuits broke and your little brother can't fix it-"

"_Oi_, I like it the way she is." He looked at Brax, who had an arched brow. "Honest! It's not that I can't fix it, I don't wanna fix it," he moaned with the face of a stubborn child. Brax simply laughed and The Doctor's ears turned pink in embarrassment.

Jack, unaware of what was happening called over Koschei. The Doctor looked at Koschei and pointed his head at Jack and Koschei walked towards him. They talked for a while. Koschei came back with a slight worried look in his eyes and The Doctor arched a brow.

"What was that about?"

"Just some words of advice. The "look after The Doctor" kinds of advice," Koschei said and The Doctor rolled his eyes. He thought there was a little lie behind those words but shrugged it off.

He turned to Jack and cleared his throat in an attempt to change the topic. "I'll see ya later, ya know!" He entered the TARDIS, beckoning the other Time Lords to come in.

Jack smiled playfully, "Course you will…" He witnessed the TARDIS fade away and waited until that hullaballoo of the TARDIS engines were heard no more.

**~DW~**

The TARDIS was in orbit around Earth and The Doctor took this chance to spend some time with the two.

"Thanks," Koschei said to Brax.

"Thanks for what?" Brax asked.

"For understanding me…" Koschei looked down and studied the TARDIS floor.

"I knew what you were like before you were eight. I watched you and Theta play together at the nursery. You had no bad in you whatsoever."

Koschei smiled. The Doctor looked at Brax and studied him from head to toe. He had spiky brown hair, just like his. He had a well-built body, unlike his skinny frame and frowned slightly at that. His blue eyes were what caught his attention.

He walked towards Brax and gave him a tentative hug. Brax grabbed him and took him into a fierce embrace before releasing him.

The Doctor nearly whispered and his eyes were burning with unshed tears, "You were always that selfish insignificant moron who I loathed, but you've no idea how much I so, so terribly missed you…"


	14. Vinegar

**Note:** _Blimey! _I'm beginning to wonder where this story is going, but enjoy this chapter!  
I'll start planning 'The Tenth Hour' now. Pinky swear. *Gives Last of the Time Lords gesture*

Thanks for the reviews! They keep me going, so kudos to you guys! :"D

* * *

"Hey check this out…" The Doctor studied the monitor and pulled off his glasses as Koschei and Brax approached from behind him and observed the screen.

Koschei whistled. "Earth must be the most popular planet in the universe. Actually, it's mostly London that attracts them all." The Doctor laughed at the remark, but Brax frowned.

"Wait a minute… There's a high concentration of calcium in the atmosphere in the western parts of London." Brax muttered. He paused for a moment of thought. "Calcium. That's weird…" He frowned as if realising something. "What are Slitheen doing in London?"

"_That_, is what we're gonna find out." The Doctor concluded. He grinned and immediately decreased the space/time throttle.

**~DW~**

The fact that it didn't occur to anyone that a big blue police box mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and landed on the pavement surprised Brax. Him and Koschei waited impatiently outside of the TARDIS.

"What's taking him so long?" Brax complained.

Koschei leaned nearer to Brax. "Between you and me, I think Theta's current body has a thing for making sure he looks nice before he leaves the TARDIS. One time, I caught him gelling up his hair in the TARDIS wardrobe for Omega knows how long…"

Brax laughed at that, but a thought crossed his mind. He pointed his head to the TARDIS. "How many regenerations has it been?" He murmured.

Koschei looked at Brax and back down to the ground. "Nine…"

"Oh, that skinny idiot," Brax sighed.

At once, The Doctor burst of the TARDIS door. His ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end.

"Nice hair." Koschei smirked and Brax snorted.

The Doctor arched a brow and shrugged the thought off. He took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the area. "Calcium concentrations increase rapidly westwards," he mumbled.

Koschei began to walk, "I guess we're going _that_ way-"

"No, no, no." The Doctor objected. "If we're facing Slitheen, we should arm ourselves…"

**~DW~**

The Doctor strolled through the aisles carrying dozens of bottles of vinegar with Brax in tow. Koschei looked impatient.

"We're gonna lose them…" He pouted. "I wanna see them explode."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We need to reason out with them. We don't want to hurt them."

The three Time Lords were given rather strange looks in the grocery market. At one point, a child pointed at them claiming to have taken the last bottle of vinegar and his mum argued with Koschei until she got a bottle.

"Says the one who insisted we arm ourselves," Koschei bit back. He didn't notice The Doctor stop and bumped into him. He cursed in Gallifreyan as he dropped a bottle of vinegar and struggled to pick it up without dropping any more bottles. "Doctor?"

The Doctor stood idly and gazed intently at the confectionary section, in particular, the jelly babies. He sighed and preceded his journey to the counter.

"What was that all about?" Koschei asked.

"Where you staring at the jelly babies?" Brax chortled.

The Doctor turned to the two. He had the look of a stubborn child. "Yes."

"Did he used to offer you jelly babies all the time?" Koschei asked Brax.

"Yes! He always had a bag of em." He replied and frowned. "Doctor, why don't you eat jelly babies anymore?"

"I'm allergic…" Was all The Doctor said.

**~DW~**

Amelia had spent countless hours revising for an exam. It was Maths. It was painfully difficult. "Algebra" was now her most _hated_ word.

Amelia was seated at a single desk with graffiti scrawled on it "YOLO", "B-O-R-E-D", "HELP ME!", the usual sort of thing. She _detested_ the isolation from everyone else. Casually, she lifted her once drowned in Maths head and glanced around. Two desks away from her was Mels, pen wielded in her hand, carving at what seemed to be her ruler. A couple of seats to her left was Rory, looking dazed and confused, hoping the answer will miraculously appear on his exam paper just by idly sitting there. Eventually, Amelia dived back into her paper, turned the page and read the next question. The words "Quadratic Equations" slapped her across the face as she sighed and slumped on the table in retreat.

"Maths students you have 10 minutes remaining don't forget to check your work and any calculations you have done." The examiner said in a monotone voice, like a robot.

Suddenly, a low cracking sound echoed throughout the sports hall, engulfing the deafening silence that once dominated the room. It was coming from the doors at the front… Amelia looked up. The invigilators froze. The sound of doors being knocked down was unmistakable.

Abruptly, there was a sudden pressure and then an eerie silence followed by everything moving in slow motion… Amelia witnessed the two doors flying out of their hinges and felt something swipe past her. _What? Had it been some practical joke Mels decided to overdo? _Amelia turned, but Mels was already turning around asking what had just happened, just like the rest of the students.

Her wondering stopped as a figure stepped out from behind what used to be a doorway at the front of the sports hall. Right in front of her. She could only stare. He was tall. He was skinny. He was wearing a brown suit under, his long lighter brown trench coat flapping as if in its own private panic. He wore a pair of cream Converses. He was waving a blue… _torch_? It made a high pitched humming noise as the bright, vivid blue tip flickered.

The big clock that was helplessly suspended above the door promptly fell. The man lightly bounced out of the way so he was even closer to Amelia's desk. From the angle of where she sat, she noticed that what had been the girl's toilets was now a crumbled mess of a building, like the buildings she saw in those videos Mrs Burton York made her class watch when studying earthquakes in year 9. Trillions of questions endlessly circled her perplexed mind. And then the man spoke.

"_Blimey!_ Talk about reasoning out with them…" The man sighed. He stopped what he did as he noticed he was in an exam hall. "Hello!" He announced loudly. "Exams is it? Oh good, I _love_ exams! _We-ell_… Most of them… And when I say most, I mean some… Oh, alright a few! Still takes some exam to baffle me. The only one I truly failed was the TARDIS driving test, but that was just ridiculous and hardly anyone passed it! What was it young humans say now? "Epic fail"? Don't you just love the word "epic"? Of course the whole expression is ruined by the word "fail" and-"

"Who are you?" Amelia cut in a Scottish accent. No one else was going to and it was her he appeared to be talking to.

"Right. Yes! Good question. I was just coming to that. I'm The Doctor."

He said it with a proud smile, followed by a childish grin, as if he'd just found a cure for cancer.

"Doctor? Doctor who?" She pressed, not satisfied. Amelia looked back at the examiner for help, but she appeared to be stunned into an awkward silence.

"I knew you were going to say that," The Doctor stated factually. "It's either "Doctor who?" or "Doctor what?" or "What's your real name?" or "You can't just be 'The Doctor'" But here I am, just The Doctor!"

"Er… Okay…" Amelia mumbled.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Amelia. Amelia Pond…"

"Oh! I like that name! Sounds like something out of a fairytale." Amelia smiled at that.

"Excuse me," the examiner finally chipped in. "If you're a doctor, then why aren't you at your practice?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He heard shouting from outside. It was Koschei.

"Oi, Doctor! What happened to "reason out with them"?! Hurry up! Brax is stuck doing Maths with the Slitheen." Koschei sneered.

"Just a minute, I'm talking to my new friend Amelia." He shouted back, but frowned. "Doing Maths with the Slitheen?"

"It's called _sarcasm_ you idiot…" The Doctor couldn't hear anymore as Koschei ran further into the school building with open bottles of vinegar. The Doctor turned to Amelia and her exam paper.

What are you doing there again? Ooh! Algebra! I love a good bit of Algebra! AL-GE-BRA! Exercises the brain. You know, I met Al-Khwarizmi. 'The _Father_ of Algebra' they called him! Friendly chap. _Brilliant_ chap! _We-ell_… Until I was in the same room as him."

It was at this point that Amelia concluded that yes, he was definitely mad. Or an alien.

"Let's see, the answer to that one is X squared minus 10Y minus 11X. Go on, write it down! X squared minus 10Y minus 11X. Here's how you do it-"

"Excuse me!" the examiner strode over to where The Doctor stood, forgetting the sports hall was missing a pair of doors. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave at once!"

"Who, me?" The Doctor appeared shocked that he was being asked to leave. After all, he'd only interrupted an important public exam and broke down two doctors.

"Yes! With me now! And you're going to have to pay for the doors!"

The Doctor's expression changed from shock to outrage.

"I didn't break it! It was the Slitheen! You could try getting it to pay, but it would probably fart you to death… Always the smelly deaths… you didn't see it did you? About ye foot high, green… the Raxacoriofallapatorian race? No?"

Mrs Bart was annoyed. Amelia pointed the direction the speedy green Raxa-thing had taken.

"Thank you!" He beamed. "Nice to meet you Amelia Pond!"

"I think it was nice to meet you too," she replied shakily. "And thanks!"

"No problemo!" He grinned.

He began to zig-zag round the desks towards the other doors.

"You are not going anywhere!" The sound of the examiner's voice triggered the Doctor as he bounced off.

An invigilator blocked the Doctor. The Doctor looked back intently as the examiner was walking towards him with a "threatening" glare behind her glasses. He looked back at her with and unconcerned expression.

"Excuse me," he said politely to the invigilator.

"Like I said: You are not going anywhere! My fellow colleague has called the police!" the examiner pointed her head to a teacher silently muttering on the phone.

"The police? Can't be scarier than the Judoon or, I don't know, Gene Hunt. If you got Gene Hunt in, well then I'd be worried. The Judoon are a bit too funny looking to be scary."

"Gene Hunt is a fictional character in BBC crime dramas Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes," Mrs Bart slowly explained.

"I wouldn't tell him that," The Doctor said darkly. Abruptly his expression changed to a cheery mode. "I_ love _these TV shows, though. Shame the lead in Life on Mars looks a bit like a psychotic man who tried to destroy the world… Speaking of police!" He suddenly beamed. "I'll just step into that police box," he indicated the blue box tediously parked near the front of the hall, "and arrest myself."

As if on cue, screaming echoed from somewhere on site. The Doctor smacked his hand to his forehead.

"Oh! The Slitheen! I've been so busy chatting to you about telly, I forgot there was an alien trying to blow a hole in the universe! Bye! Oh, and Amelia? The next one is X squared plus 10Y plus 10Z!"

He dashed off, shouting "Allons-y!" as he waved at Amelia.

_Alien, _Amelia thought. She blinked, stunned.

Then the maths department exploded. Amelia swore she smelt vinegar.


	15. Goose Chase

The Doctor walked into the TARDIS console room in a white toga that draped just above his knees. His sonic screwdriver protruded out of his belt in a very weird fashion. Koschei arched a brow and dramatically waved a hand at his clothes. He almost seemed to miss the Converse-pinstripes combo. The Doctor was even wearing Roman sandals, for God's sake!

"Why?" Was all he could ask.

He whipped out his psychic paper in front of Koschei and let him read it himself.

_HELP_

_Rome 110BC._

_Make sure you know how to break people out of jail._

_xx_

Koschei grinned. "Kiss, kiss?"

The Doctor pocket the psychic paper and huffed. He had a bad feeling about this. He hurried around the console and tousled his hair as he fiddled with the monitor. "We're off to Rome and tell Brax you two need to dress all Roman-y. The last thing-"

"I am _not_ wearing a toga." Koschei interrupted.

The Doctor turned from the monitor to Koschei with a raised brow. "Don't blame me if you get thrown into a gladiator fight off because they think you look like an outsider prophesising doom to their empire…"

Koschei frowned. "I wonder who sent you that psychic message…" He bit back. "It's definitely a female, unless it was that Captain Jack…"

The Doctor scowled and before he could say anything, Koschei stood up from the pilot chair, lifted his arms in surrender and quickly scampered into the hallway. "Yes, I'll get dressed."

**~DW~**

"Rome!" The Doctor bounded from the TARDIS, grinning like a little boy and sniffed. Soon Brax came out with a nervous Koschei followed behind. "Ancient Rome, the era of wealth and luxury. Just smell that fresh Roman air, Koschei. Because it will be a _very_ long time since we'll come back-" He turned around, but the blonde was nowhere to be seen. "Shay?"

"I look like an _idiot_." Came the muttering behind the TARDIS door.

The Doctor laughed and pulled Koschei's arm from behind the door. "You're such a wuss!"

"That's because you lowered my self esteem back when you tricked me into wearing a red dress." He growled.

Brax turned to The Doctor in confusion and mouthed, "What's he on about?"

"What dress?" The Doctor teased, but Koschei glared at his friend. "Naw, you don't look bad!" He wore a red toga with a black sheet of cloth that loosely wound from his left shoulder and around his lower torso and back to the shoulder. He had no idea how The Doctor was able to shove him into _this_, but he strangely thought the black and red went rather well.

The Doctor simply mouthed "Long story" to his brother behind Koschei's back.

Brax, like the other two, was wearing a toga, similar to his brother's with the exception of the colour; it was off white like The Doctor's cream Converse. He arched a brow at the reply and silently laughed at a mental image of Koschei in a dress.

"So what do we do now?" Koschei asked.

The Doctor scratched the back of his head and pulled out his psychic paper. "Judging by the message, this person is either asking us to break someone out of jail, or break the actual sender of this message out of jail. I don't like the sound of the last bit, but either way, this person must be a _very_ good telepath to send me a message from across time so keep your minds open for anything."

Koschei and Brax nodded.

"We should split up and start searching. I'll go west, Shay will search north and Brax will search the east side. We'll all search south if we've no luck. That way, we can increase our chances of tracking the source of the message." The Doctor made a dash for it. "When we find our person, just broadcast a telepathic message at a frequency of pi Hertz for ten seconds just to make sure we won't disturb any telepathic beings…"

Hardly anything could be heard, as The Doctor grew further away from Koschei and Brax. They exchanged glances.

"Telepathic beings In Rome?" Koschei frowned.

Brax simply shrugged.

"Does your brother always wander off?" Koschei asked, but Brax was already off to the east side.

"Runs in the family." Was the reply he heard.

**~DW~**

The Doctor pouted as he trudged out of the fourth prison, the guard apologising to him for not finding who he was looking for. So far, not much luck came to him. He took out his psychic paper and read the message for the umpteenth time. "Where could you possibly be?" He murmured.

A child was running behind The Doctor and collided with him. The Time Lord stumbled but managed to get his footing before falling. He turned around to face a young boy about 10 years old.

A look of horror passed the boy's face and he stood up pleading The Doctor. "Please don't be mad! It was an accident; I didn't see you in time before I bumped into you. Mum will _kill_ me if she-"

"I'm fine," The Doctor assured.

The boy let out a sigh of relief. "If there's anything I can do as a way of saying sorry…" He shuffled feet.

"Actually," a big idea crossed The Doctor's mind and he tried to hint at what he was trying to get at. "Would you mind telling me of any prisons nearby? I mean any _underground_ prisons?"

The boy looked up. "Yeah, I can show you where one is, but I can't go into the actual place because my parents will turn tables."

The Doctor smiled. "Don't worry, you don't have to go." Then he raised a quizzical brow, "How did you know of an underground prison? I was sort of kidding when I asked about it…"

The boy feebly looked up and scratched the back of his head. "My dad is a dictator of Rome so he hears a bunch of stuff. I tend to look at some of his work when he's not around…"

The Doctor smirked. He liked this boy.

**~DW~**

"I'm sorry for taking your time." Brax courteously said to a guard. He walked out of a prison with no luck. He wondered how The Doctor and Koschei were doing and sighed. No telepathic message yet. He started to wonder if this goose chase was worth it.

Brax noticed something at the corner of his eye. It was a statue of Venus, the goddess of love pointing westwards. As normal as this looked to a Roman's eye, it stood out to the Time Lord. There was something peculiar about the statue and that was when it occurred to him. Statues carved in the Roman era were usually in two pieces-the top half of the statue connecting the bottom half, like two pieces of a puzzle. This statue is only one big piece of marble carved perfectly. Statues were made like this in the Renaissance era and onwards, what's it doing in Ancient Rome? Brax frowned as he noticed something engraved at the bottom of the statue in a language none other than Gallifreyan.

**~DW~**

The Doctor approached an entrance to the underground prison. He turned to the boy, smiling. "Thanks for your help!"

The boy just nodded his head and began to walk off before The Doctor started talking again. Curiosity took a hold of the Time Lord.

"I was just wondering. When you ran into me earlier, you seemed to be running from something. Was there anything wrong?"

The boy looked nervous and murmured. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

The Doctor winked. "Not a soul. Cross my hearts." He made the action with both his hearts.

"You have two hearts?" The boy asked in disbelief.

"Promise _you_ won't tell?"

The boy smiled. "This group was bullying my friend and I punched one of them in the nose. The rest began chasing me. They probably won't stop until they hunt me down, but I reckon it was worth it."

The Doctor snorted. "Oh you have no idea." He began to whisper solemnly, "I killed the guy who bullied my best friend."

"_No_…" He breathed.

The Doctor stood there for a moment, observing this brilliant child. Why was he telling him personal things? "What's your name?" He asked.

"Gaius Julius Caesar." The boy replied. He spotted a guard by the prison entrance and started to run. "I'd better go before anyone sees me and tells my father. It was nice meeting you mister…" And with that, he sprinted across the road.

The Doctor's eyes widened. He didn't even realise he didn't wave goodbye to the boy. _"Julius Caesar!_" He gasped.

**~DW~**

With a flash of the psychic paper, the guard bowed to The Doctor. "May I hold your items, young Lord?"

"No I'm fine," The Doctor grinned. He glanced at the psychic paper. For the day, he was the emperor's son (so it seems).

Soon, The Doctor descended underground. The state of the prison was rather disgusting. A putrid odour of BO and decaying bodies lingered the air, but spending more than an hour in a sewer was worse he thought. Water dripped from the ceiling and The Doctor frowned at a droplet that landed on his face. Cells contained prisoners of different sizes. Some big and well built, others small and skinny. Certain captives ran up to their cell bars and began pleading The Doctor for food. A wave of sympathy hit the Time Lord.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He showed them his empty hands. "I don't have any food."

Other prisoners eyed him as he walked passed their cellblocks. He wasn't going to be intimidated now.

The Doctor felt a psychic nudge in his mind. It was Brax.

_"Brother, any luck?" _The Doctor telepathically spoke whilst scanning the prison cells.

_"Sorry nothing yet…" _

He sighed. _"I found an underground prison and I've just started looking around."_

_"Oh…"_

The Doctor arched a brow. He could detect a sense of concern in Brax's psyche. _"What's happening back there?"_

_"There's this statue but it's so out of place…"_

_"What are you on about? Statues are normal in Ancient Rome."_

_"No this statue is different. They way it was built for a start gives it away, but that doesn't matter anymore. It's what's written on the bottom of it. What got me is the fact that it's in Gallifreyan. Wait a sec, lemme read what it says…"_

The Doctor was too focused on finding this person; he couldn't bother with his brother right now and lost it at the second sentence. He stopped at the last cell and found a blonde curly haired woman in her 40s sitting there as if waiting for someone. She smiled at the sight of The Doctor.

_"Theta, it says 'Hello, Sweetie.'"_

* * *

**Note: **I've got three exams next week so expect _very_ little updates!

Anyway, hoping you all enjoyed this chapter! :D


	16. Dark

**NOTE: **Helloooo! I'm not dead! :D

Hopefully, you won't be disappointed as much as the rather tiny quantity of words in this chapter!

I purely wanted to write about the relationship with The Doctor and River, hence the short chapter, but hopefully, future ones won't be as short, haha!

This was simply a short break from constant Science revision. GCSEs have slapped me across the face, and things look like they're going to get ten times more tougher. _Oh no..._

Anyway, enjoy! :D

* * *

_"You?!" _The Doctor hissed.

The curly haired woman gave a playful smile and waved at the Time Lord behind bars. "Hello, Sweetie." She pointed her head at the sonic screwdriver that protruded from The Doctor's belt. "I see you came prepared. Now could you let me out, Honey?"

The Doctor gave a stern look and shook his head in disbelief. He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end and scrunched the bridge of his nose. Then he pointed accusingly at her. "You…" He breathed. He fumbled around his perplexed brain, but the shock took a better hold of him. He gave in and insulted her instead. "I could point and _laugh_ at you all day, archaeologist."

The woman arched a brow and continued to tease him. "_Please_. You know my name, Sweetie. I should have a spotter's guide. Weren't you supposed to have a different face?"

The Time Lord scowled. He never wanted to interfere with Rome's affairs, but seeing as there's a woman from the future who got herself in prison in Ancient Rome _right in front of him_, he had the inner urge to let her out in case time lines gets wibbly. Out of all the women in the whole entire universe, why did it have to be _her_? "Better safe than sorry," he murmured to himself. Suddenly, he shot a quizzical glance at the woman. "River, how did you end up in _Ancient Rome_?"

"A rather handsome Time Agent gave me his Vortex Manipulator. I used it to get to you and it short circuited." she held out her wrist, the Vortex Manipulator strapped around it and gave him a look of sweet innocence. "Could you fix it?". The Doctor frowned and she simply smirked. "So are you gonna get me out of here or not?"

He shook his head from excess thought and hesitated for a moment. Tentatively, he glanced around making sure no one was watching him. Thankfully, the other prisoners went back into their cells and The Doctor proceeded towards River's. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered, fumbling around for his sonic screwdriver.

"Just like old times," River smiled. She talked like he knew her for a long time and that puzzled The Doctor. He remembered that very moment in the Library and had a pang of sickness. He knew how she was going to die and it saddened him greatly. He should probably be a _little_ bit nicer to her…

The whine of the sonic screwdriver reverberated around the prison corridors, making the Doctor frown. Generally, he didn't mind the noise, but trying to be discrete with it certainly proved to be difficult. It's a _sonic_ screwdriver, it's supposed to make noise, for goodness sake!

He hummed in approval as the prison lock clicked and the cell door creaked open. River smiled and sauntered past him, haughtily brushing her curly hair against The Doctor's face. He recoiled from the sudden action. "Stop it," he muttered. River simply chuckled and he frowned. He slotted his sonic screwdriver into his belt and hurried in the direction of the exit. A thought crossed his mind. "Save all the lovey-dovey stuff for my blonde best friend, you'll _love_ him. We gotta move _now_, before we get caught."

The two made a run for it, attracting the attentions of the prisoners. Eventually, the captives began yelling a string of insults and offers to break them out of jail, soon grabbing the prison guard's attention and he pleaded them to shush. Heck, he even promised to break them out later, but they continued shouting. More shouting could be heard as The Doctor and River approached the corridor. He moaned as he heard a man's voice from afar.

"What the hell is happening down there, Atticus? You're supposed to be on sentry."

A loud groan could be heard. "They're probably singing or something." Another voice protested.

"Get down there and shut them up! Cut someone's tongue off if it means keeping their puny mouths shut, I can't drink my wine in peace." The voice snarled.

With that, The Doctor grabbed River's wrist and they ran throughout the maze of underground corridors and hallways. He didn't care where they were running to; he just wanted to find daylight.

The Doctor's mind tore from thought as he smashed his right side against gold. He stumbled and lost his footing, letting go of River. The momentum of the fall flung her a bit forward but she grasped the wall to gain her balance. A well-built Roman soldier, clad in gold armour stood right in front of The Doctor. He shook his head, dazed and confused from the fall and gasped at the sight in front of him. "_RUN!_" His mind was telling him.

Immediately, he clambered from the sandy ground and made tried to make a dash for it before the soldier could do anything. The soldier shouted for other guards and The Doctor frowned. A fist hurtled towards his direction and the Time Lord ducked just in time to swipe his leg against the man's. The soldier fell on his back and smacked the back of his head against the ground. His eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious. Without delay, The Doctor stood up and started to run.

River must have continued running since she was nowhere to be seen. The Doctor turned around to make sure the soldier wasn't badly hurt, but instead, caught a glimpse of silver by the unconscious soldier's feet. It was his sonic screwdriver! It must have fallen out when he fell. At once, he came to a halt and quickly jogged back to reclaim his most trusty, reliable and favourite tool in the universe.

What he didn't notice was another soldier behind him smacking the back of his head with the handle of his sword.

_For some reason, everything turned dark._


	17. Typical Romans

**Note:** Hey guys! I have two more exams this week, so maybe, just _mayb_e, after those exams, I may update a _little_ more frequently. However, I can't guarantee anything yet, since I have _plenty_ more exams this year... Dx

On a _very_ positive note, thank you for all the reviews! They keep me going, so again, kudos to you and keep them coming!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D

* * *

Koschei sprinted towards the town centre. He felt the Doctor's sudden burst of pain in his psyche and immediately left a Roman man in the midst of talking, no matter how intentional and rude it seemed. A Time Lord will always be wherever one is in pain-It's a Time Lord thing. _What the hell's he gotten himself into?!_ His mind jumped to rather unpleasant conclusions and panic struck him. At once, he sped up.

He collided with another man running the opposite direction and stumbled quite vigorously. The impact smacked all the air out of Koschei's lungs and he almost felt his respiratory bypass system kick in. "Watch it!" He growled. "I'm in a ru-" His tone subsided as the spiky brown haired man picked himself up and brushed his cream toga. He prayed it was who he wished it was.

The man turned around; his bright blue eyes focused on Koschei's. Koschei sighed. It wasn't Theta, but he guessed Brax was the next best thing… His eyes showed distress. "You felt it right?" He panted. "Theta's in _pain_…"

Soon, a wave on nausea brushed their minds and the two Time Lords turned their heads towards the direction of the source the psychic signal came from. Koschei groaned and gave a faint and annoyed laugh.

They were facing the Colosseum.

**~DW~**

River ascended from the underground stairs and squinted at the sudden change of light. Being underground for quite a while paid its toll… Hesitantly, she pulled out a long silver device. It was the sonic screwdriver. After she continued running from The Doctor's fall underground, she couldn't help but turn back since she noticed he hasn't caught up with her. All she found was his sonic device and assumed he must have dropped it whilst running.

River frowned as she felt an odd psychic presence. Her psyche wasn't top notch, like The Doctor's, but she can tell the air was a little off. She scanned the road and spotted two somewhat good-looking men, a blonde and a brown, walking hurriedly towards the Colosseum to her left.

Then she remembered The Doctor's words back at the underground prison: _Save all the lovey-dovey stuff for my blonde best friend, you'll love him._

_That sly idiot!_ Grinning, she hovered over to the mysterious handsome men.

**~DW~**

"Why do I have a sudden urge to run away?" Koschei muttered. Brax ignored the remark. He quickened his pace and clenched his fists until his knuckles were white, as if trying to squeeze out what was bothering him.

They were both heading towards the Colosseum when a curly haired woman flitted towards them with a grin playing around her lips. "_Ooooh_… Hello, Sweeties." She purred.

Koschei arched a brow, somehow aroused. Brax, on the other hand gave Shay a little shove. "I'm sorry ma'am, we're a little busy." He said sternly.

Oblivious of Brax, her eyes danced between the physical features of Koschei's body. "I _do_ like a blond in a toga."

Koschei gasped and squirmed at this wondrous apparition. His ears turned pink and he shot a look at Brax for help. Brax frowned at the woman. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

A _brilliant_ thought crossed her mind. "Julia Domna."

Koschei's jaw dropped. He wasn't too familiar with Earth's history, but there was no doubt he wouldn't notice this bit of detail. "Julia Domna," he exclaimed in disbelief. "Wife of Emperor Septimius Serverus and mother of Emperors Ge-" The woman's brow rose as Koschei smacked his hand on his mouth. "Spoilers." He breathed.

Embarrassed, Brax looked at the woman and apologised for his insincere tone. "We're just in a hurry to find someone and I don't think we have much time. That idiot gets into all sorts of trouble." Brax sighed.

At once, the woman's face lit up. "Sounds like what someone I know would do," She chuckled. "I shall help you find your man. With my rather high authority around these parts, surely you two may need to use this to an advantage." Koschei grinned at that.

"We are honoured," Brax smiled.

"The look on his face when he finds out we met _Julia Domna_!" Koschei whispered to his friend.

An enormous structure loomed up ahead, a giant round building. Dozens of archways stretched around the lowest storey. What worried Koschei and Brax was that at times, tens of thousands of people would stream through those entrances; eager to see whatever the hell they hoped it wouldn't be. Problem is that people are _already_ going inside the Colesseum…

They approached the entrance of the Colosseum and passed a couple of guards who didn't bother with security inspection and instead, drank wine to their hearts contempt. Chattering and the odd cheer can be heard towards the depths of the Colesseum and the noise grew louder and louder the deeper they proceeded. Eventually, the threesome sauntered into the seating area of the stadium. Countless Romans filled the stadium, some wild, crazy and over excited, whilst some sat and watched in a more civilised manor.

Brax squinted and scanned the entire stadium. "I can't find him…" He murmured.

**~DW~**

The Doctor mustered all his energy solely to lift his eyelids. The back of his head throbbed, making him feel slightly nauseous and his eyes water at the excruciating pain. His vision was a little hazy until he blinked a few times before he realised the ground was moving. Hold that train of thought… He shook his head and squirmed, as he couldn't move his arms. He looked behind him to see two guards. One was quite tall and rather well built, and the other a little short and stout. They both reeked of sweat and misery, but The Doctor has smelt worse. Their arms hooked to his, they dragged him backwards, slowly across hallways and corridors to more corridors, all dimly lit up by torches that hung on the walls.

"Wait a minute," he murmured. His eyes widened in realisation as he used his feet to try and stop the guards. "What?" Was all he could let out.

The two guards glanced behind and smirked. "Some guts you got there. Breaking out one of our prisoners, the Gods will punish you for what you did." The tall soldier leered.

The Doctor blinked. He heard loud cheers from above and frowned. "Are we going to take in a show?" He asked with interest.

The men chortled, which The Doctor took as a 'yes'.

"Today, we honour Mars…" The short grinned unpleasantly.

The Doctor was growing rather bored of this. _Typical Romans and their Gods…_ Fighting the pain in his head, he brought his legs towards him and pushed them up so he can stand again. His surprised captors staggered forward and The Doctor sharply spun, breaking the men's grips as he ran, leaving them gape in utter astonishment.

"Don't worry, gents, I can find my own way home," he said _very_ uncertainly since he had no idea where he was going. The darkness of the underground passages made things ten times harder for him. This was really not his lucky day after all…

**~DW~**

"Have you found him yet?" Brax asked desperately.

Unfortunately, River shook her head. After using her "high authority" to make guards search for a brown spiky haired man in a white toga, they only came back giving her feeble 'no's'.

Suddenly, the crowds became extremely loud as every single person shot up from their chairs shouting and screaming. These people are eager to see the bloody spectacle that awaited beyond. Koschei and Brax felt like they were being drowned in Roman heads.

"Looks like the party's starting," Koschei shouted over the noise.

The three turned their heads to the arena.

A dozen or so prisoners wielding weapons that vary from a simple dagger to large two-handed long swords entered the arena. After studying and determining the new entrants on the arena, Koschei, Brax and River sighed in relief.

That was when a brown haired man in a white toga ran into the arena, seemingly unaware of what he just got himself into. Obviously this particular man would look very dazed and confused upon entry. Immediately, Koschei face palmed. Brax, on the other hand, looked absolutely worried over his brother and River simply shot a quizzical brow. The whole stadium gave a loud cheer at the man's sudden entry. He ran back but was blocked by two guards.

"You have got to be kidding me," Brax breathed.

**~DW~**

The Doctor felt like an idiot. A _bloody_ idiot. He cursed in Gallifreyan under his breath. Those soldiers might as well have dragged him if he was going to end up here. Maybe the universe isn't on his side… He frowned and shook his head. _No time to be thinking, _he thought. Actually, the sound of cheering and yelling could _drown_ his thoughts, driving him a little insane. If there's no way of getting out of this gladiator battle, he'll just find another way. That's his specialty-he does it _every_ time, for goodness sake!

The Doctor looked up and realised the vast amount of people watching him. There are two options: These people want to see him kill everyone and _everything_ in this wretched death match, or they are waiting for him to be killed. Frankly, he found himself in a slight dilemma.

He studied his surroundings-The whole arena was the size of 3 football fields. It was filled with white sand to soak up blood. "Great, way to go Mr Optimistic," The Doctor muttered. There were a few bushes, _as if it would help_. Then there was a tree all the way across the arena. Not a tall one and not a very short one. He hummed in approval. Thanks to his tall and skinny frame, he might just be able to climb it and probably jump onto the spectator stands and make a get away.

The Doctor's mind tore from plan as a trap door creaked open. Then another one, and another… Two underfed lions and a dishevelled bear were forced out from their cells, eyeing all the puny humanoids present in this death match. The Doctor gulped. With no TARDIS in sight, no sonic, no Koschei, no Brax, and certainly no River, and 60 000 pairs of eyes glaring at him, he felt _utterly _helpless.


	18. You're Welcome

**Note: **Hey guys! Don't worry, I'm here! Three exams went by and I reckon I may update a little more frequently now.

I've got a new fanfiction project in mind and I'll probably keep you posted on that!

For the meantime, here's Chapter 18! It's a little action packed, but hey! Enjoy! :"D

* * *

Koschei burst out laughing and pointed at the arena. "What the hell's he doing?!"

Brax let out an annoyed sighed. Sometimes, he wondered why on Earth he worried over his brother.

River, however, gave a playful smile. "This looks interesting, why don't we sit back and enjoy this? When things get out of hand, we can try to stop this game." Koschei grinned at the thought and gave Brax looks of plead. Eventually, Brax gave in.

"_Fine_, we do this in honour of Mars…" He lied, solely because he didn't want to disappoint _The_ Julia Domna.

**~DW~**

The only way of escape was to climb that tree on the other side of the arena. The Doctor felt completely clueless, unlike the prisoners forced to play in this cruel bloody game who knew what they were doing. Humans and animals alike edged closer to each other; a lion occasionally letting out a growl and the bear jerking its head and snapping its jaws to intimidate the prisoners and the Time Lord. Three prisoners lunged at a lion, managing to dodge a powerful blow with its large paw and stabbing a spear to its underside. The lion let out a painful roar and staggered as another prisoner knocked the poor creature out with a wallop to its head with his shield. Life was futile for that lion-it was bleeding too much at such a fast rate.

What The Doctor witnessed made him sick. Sympathy flashed his horror stricken face as the crowds burst out in an extremely deafening roar, which made the Time Lord scowl. What he didn't notice was a bear charging at him. Thanks to his light and skinny frame, he leaped out of the way as the bear flung itself forwards.

A prisoner made for The Doctor, his mace swinging dangerously above his head. The Doctor ducked as the threatening ball of spikes swiped just above him and rapidly leapt under and through the man's legs. From the corner of his eye, another prisoner lunged at him and smacked the back of The Doctor's previously hit head with his shield. The Doctor screamed in pain as he clutched his head and opened an eye to see what was happening. An axe hurtled his way and he dodged it just in time, making the prisoner stagger from the momentum. The Doctor took this as an opportunity to grab the man's back. _Between the two shoulder blades, there's a certain point where there are a cluster of neurones. If he could just…_ And with that, The Doctor jabbed two fingers between the man's shoulder blades and instantly, he dropped to the ground. The Time Lord hesitated for a moment and quickly placed two fingers under the man's neck. He let out a relieved sigh as he felt some faint pulses and ran towards the beloved foliage.

Five prisoners were occupied with the last lion, but the bear stared at The Doctor. The tree was just a few meters behind the bear. It salivated hungrily and The Doctor raced through his mind for something, just _anything _to distract the thing. Instead, he recklessly charged at the bear and so did the bear. Just before contact, he skidded right under the animal, and picked himself up to scrunch a fist and muster all his Time Lord strength and hit it against the inside of the bears hind leg. At once, the bear groaned in pain and collapsed sideways.

The Doctor hissed as a searing pain ripped through his head. He placed a hand at the back of his head. It felt warm and… _wet?_ Immediately, his hand shot out from his head to reveal an orangey-red liquid all over his palm. He grimaced, but was torn from thought when two prisoners ran towards him; an oversized man with a sword and a tall skinny one with a spear. He groaned as he blocked a punch with the back of his arm. If there's one thing anyone shouldn't do, it was to underestimate The Doctor. He acquired 900 years' worth of all intergalactic martial arts and self defence skills ranging from the typical human Kang Duk Kwan Taekwondo to Venusian Aikido. Because he was getting bored and frankly annoyed with all this mess, he felt like doing a bit of the ol' Bando Kickboxing. He was being a bit too kind, actually.

He dodged every punch, sword and spear thrust and threw in a few hits to some weak points, making them stagger. The skinny man threw a punch towards his face before the Time Lord directed the oncoming attack away with a swipe of his arm, giving him the opportunity to knock the man out with a strike to the man's forehead with the heel of his hand.

The other prisoner lunged his spear at him, but failed, as his wrist was knife handed by The Doctor, making him drop his weapon and clutch his hand in pain. With that, the Time Lord came to an abrupt halt. The oversized prisoner looked taken aback.

"I saw you break that woman outta jail. You got the guts to do that, why don't you finish me off?" The prisoner leered.

The Doctor dropped to a serious tone. "I can't. I just can't. Stop this now and I will let you be. I just want to escape."

The man chortled. "No chance!" He grabbed the spear from the ground only to receive a sharp jab in a weak point near the collarbone, making him drop to unconsciousness. The Doctor placed his fingers on the prisoner's neck, followed by the skinny man's and hummed in approval when a pulse from both men were felt.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the sleeve of The Doctor's toga and he was dragged downwards and backwards. Unaware of what was happening, a painfully hard blow against his solar plexus knocked the wind out of him until his respiratory bypass system kicked in automatically. He was kneed to his side and let out a cry of pain. The Doctor, shrivelled up on the ground, grunted as the three prisoners jeered at him. A lion's roar could be heard and soon, the voices of the two prisoners subsided. The Doctor looked up and his eyes widened at a lion in mid air about to land on him. Instantly, he rolled, but enough to get his left arm grasped by the animal's sharp claws. He scrunched his eyes and let out a pained gasp. Orangey-red blood seeped out of is fresh wound, and without delay, the Time Lord picked himself up and ran, clutching his bloody arm. The audience, however, cheered.

"How is this fair?" The Time Lord snarled. "I've not a single bit of protection and you expect me to fight armed prisoners and wild animals?!" He hoped a game official would hear him. Obvious as it has always been, it occurred to him that no one really cared...

**~DW~**

Koschei, Brax and River exchanged uneasy glances.

"I think this is getting a little out of hand…" Koschei murmured.

"_Really?_" River sarcastically replied.

The whole crowd booed and screamed at the brown haired man who scampered off and climbed a nearby tree, only to be targeted by a lion, which, fortunately for the Romans, pleased them. At once, River pushed and shoved her way past downwards towards the front row, with Shay and Brax in tow.

"What are you planning to do?" Brax shouted at her.

"Helping him." Was all River said.

Koschei and Brax looked at one another. "She could just _order_ the game officials to stop the game," Koschei muttered.

After a moment of deep concentration, the three managed to force their way to the front.

**~DW~**

The Doctor was suspended helplessly on a feeble branch, looking as if it will snap any minute soon because of the added weight, despite The Doctor's skinny and lightweight frame. The lion was on it's twos with it's front paws grabbing the tree trunk. The Doctor yelped as the animal jumped and swiped at him, almost missing his head.

"Y-you know…" he stuttered. "I've m-met a rather n-nice lion. King of N-Narnia he is… You should m-meet him."

The lion gave another almighty jump and stretched it's powerful paws. The Doctor screamed at the sudden action and clung onto dear life. He shut his eyes and took a brief moment. For God's sake! He's a Time Lord! He can do _anything_. Instead, The Doctor, the last of the Time Lords, is going to die being mauled by a cat. How embarrassing…

"_Doctor!_"

Yes, that's his name. It reassured him hearing his name being called at a time like this. It reminded him of all those shining moments where he would come to a companion's rescue. Slight problem… _he_ needed rescuing.

"_DOCTOR!_"

**~DW~**

River practically screamed his name for the umpteenth time. "_DOCTOR!_"

"Wait, how do you know his name?" Brax interrupted her.

River looked slightly uneasy. "You told me."

"No we never. We just told you what he looks like," Brax narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Will you two shut up? The idiot's on a tree being played with a lion!" Koschei growled.

At once, River resumed her screaming fits.

**~DW~**

_"DOCTORRR!"_

The Doctor frowned and muttered under his breath. "Wait a minute…"

"_DOCTOR!_ You bloody idiot, why don't listen?!"

"_What?!_" Immediately his eyes flashed open and they darted here and there, locating the source of the familiar voice. A particular blond curly haired woman flailed her arms at him. It didn't look very eye catchy since the whole crowd were going even crazier. The Doctor shot an accusing point at the woman. "_YOU?! _Fat load of use you were! You abandoned me-_" _He was sharply cut off by a loud crack the branch he clung on onto let out. The lion beneath continued pouncing towards him and The Doctor screamed "_RIVER!_"

"Why the hell did he shout 'River'?" Koschei exclaimed.

Brax was already off trying to find a game official to stop this once and for all. River, on the other hand, searched her pockets. She shrugged as an answer to Koschei's question and lobbed a silver object into the arena.

**~DW~**

The Doctor braced himself. He began talking to himself, "If I jump at the exact moment the branch breaks, I should be able to make it without being lion food…" he trailed off. "But my trajectory has to be at an angle of 84.36 degrees judging on how the branch will brake and the rate it will swing backwards since the force from my jump and the swinging branch won't enable me to _actually_ jump since both forces are acting the same direction and two forces are needed to act on one another, oh what the hell."

The Time Lord jumped off the branch as it snapped and swung back, landing rather smoothly on his front because of the soft sand terrain. His head snapped up at the lion, which was now apparently edging on him. He caught a glimpse of silver and laughed in triumph as he picked himself up and dashed for the object. The sonic screwdriver lied on the white sand innocently and The Doctor scowled at it as if the object personally insulted him.

"Who thought you'd get me into _this_ much trouble," he murmured, referring to the device he picked up and fumbled with the settings. A roar distracted The Doctor and he turned around to face the lion and bear slowly edging nearer and nearer the Time Lord. He raised a brow. "Have you heard of a rather nice lion called Simba? I reckon-"

He was interrupted suddenly as the animals dashed towards him. Almost at once, The Doctor pointed his sonic device and activated it, emitting a high frequency noise that triggered the animals. The noise almost practically drilled into their sensitive ears. The Doctor, having very sensitive and superior Time Lord hearing, was also affected by the high frequency sound wave and gritted his teeth at the constant throbbing from the back of his head. Thankfully, the humans didn't have hearing like his and weren't affected by the noise.

The lion was the first to be knocked out, followed by the bear that fell head first from standing position. The crowd boomed with cheers. The Doctor blinked at this new apparition and shook his head. The prisoners were busy fighting each other so the Time Lord took this opportunity to escape. He rounded back to the tree and climbed it with ease. A hand was stretched out to him from the spectator stands and the Time Lord gaped. He looked up to see the smirking face of none other than Koschei. The two laughed and Koschei hoisted The Doctor out from the tree and they embraced in a rather fierce hug, slapping each others backs in a very manly manor.

"Great game!" Koschei laughed, his face turning into a nervous grin.

The Doctor frowned. "You mean to say your were watching me almost get _killed_?!" His arms began flailing.

Trying to change the subject, Koschei turned to River. "Er, Doctor, meet Julia Domna."

The Doctor rose a brow and with that, River's eyes widened as she looked away finding some sort of excuse.

Someone from the crowd noticed The Doctor's presence and pointed an accusing finger at him. "It's the prisoner! What's he doing? He's escaped!"

"Let's save this for later," River said in a very sweet tone as they made a run for the exit. More and more people emptied the Colesseum as they realised a prisoner has escaped.

**~DW~**

It took a banana, a piece of string, a vase pot, a donkey, extremely fast talking and an _awful_ lot of running for The Doctor, Koschei and River to escape the teaming throngs of Roman soldiers and angry gladiator spectators. Brax managed to catch up and was completely bewildered by the whole situation.

Everyone found themselves panting in the TARDIS as it took off and orbited around the planet Earth.

"Can someone _please_, for Omega's sake, explain what the hell is going on?" Brax exclaimed in desperation.

"_Julia Domna?!_" The Doctor echoed.

"Well, who else was I supposed to be?!" River bit back.

Koschei and Brax exchanged glances. "What?" They gaped in unison.

"Oh, I don't know. _Jack the Ripper_?!" He fought back.

River arched a brow. "I'll 'Jack the Ripper' _you_ in a minute." She warned.

"You abandoned me!" The Doctor hissed.

"And I saved your life." River smirked. "You're welcome."

The Doctor scowled.

Koschei seemed to be enjoying this, but Brax stood between The Doctor and River frowning and obviously annoyed with this malarkey. "Would you two just shut up and stop arguing like an old married couple and tell me what the _hell_ is going on."

The Doctor blinked at his older brother's serious tone and feebly scratched the back of his head. _Well, this is going to be a long discussion…_


	19. Magic

**Note: **Hello!

The reason why this chapter is so awfully short is because I wanted to round off River's cameo, so the plot can flow a little right.

I promise you the future chapters won't be like this. Pinky swear! Just need to wait for my proof reader to give me the all clear, haha!

Oh! Just like to thank you for the reviews and follows! They keep me going! I try my best to reply to reviews, but time isn't on my side... Dx

Anyway, enjoy this chapter! :D

* * *

Brax stood firm between The Doctor and River. His eyes bore his brother's. "Tell me what is going on," he said slowly and seriously. The Doctor sighed and gazed at River. Koschei sat up, also wanting to know the truth. Suddenly, The Doctor let out a pained rasp and groaned as he clutched his arm. Orangey-red blood oozed from his arm at a rather fast rate.

"How did you get that?!" Brax gasped, rounding on his brother and examining his bloody arm.

"_Oh!_" The Doctor scowled. "_Now_ you all realise I'm bleeding uncontrollably! That lion got me back at the gladiator match." He said the last part in a matter of fact tone.

Koschei hissed at the thought. "Must have hurt…"

"Oh, _really?_" The Doctor bit back in a high-pitched tone.

River entered the console room with antiseptic, wipes and bandages. She ripped open a pack of wipes and began cleaning The Doctor's wound. He winced at the stinging sensation as antiseptic was dabbed around his arm. Finally, she wrapped the wound with a dressing, followed by a bandage. "There you go, Sweetie. That should hold off the bleeding before your healing ability kicks in."

The whole time, Koschei and Brax stood there watching in awe. She tended him ever so gently. Then Brax arched a brow. "Did _the _Julia Domna call you 'Sweetie'?"

"Oh, you can stop calling her that." The Doctor frowned. "Her name's River Song."

It was Brax's turn to frown. Koschei, however, grinned.

"Why did you call yourself Julia Domna back in Rome?" Brax asked with suspicion in his voice.

River rolled her eyes. "Well, how was I supposed to be acquainted by you? You were the only way of getting to Theta."

Brax and Koschei gasped. How the hell does she even know The Doctor's nickname?! They glared at the mysterious woman as if she had stolen a piece of the TARDIS and was about to run away before she was caught.

River looked slightly worried. "_What?_ Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to use you to get to him, if that's what you want me to say."

The Doctor simply rolled his eyes.

Brax shot a glance at his brother. "How does she know your name?" He asked almost desperately.

The Doctor grinned nervously. "Well, when you told us to stop arguing like an old married couple, we _were_ fighting like a married couple."

"She's your wife?!" Koschei blurted.

The Doctor feebly nodded. All of a sudden, his voice box wasn't man enough to function. Frankly, it _did_ make sense since marriages done in the Gallifreyan tradition meant River had ought to know his name.

Brax couldn't put a finger on anything his brother said. "How come you never told us you got married?"

"She's from the future; _my _future." The Doctor replied. He turned to River. "And I think it's best you _stay_ in the future before I hear any more from that mouth of yours." He teased, trying to lighten the mood.

River wanted to intervene, but giggled and nodded. She didn't want to cause any problems with time. Not after being flung all the way to ancient Rome from the 51st century.

The Doctor typed in some co ordinates and released the hand brakes. The TARDIS lurched as it entered the Time Vortex.

Brax still had his suspicions. "If you two are married, how come I never see you together?"

"I don't know," The Doctor admitted. "To be honest, I've explained _everything_ to you, I swear. I've only met River twice in my life. The first was back at the Library when…" He trailed off as sadness and despair brushed his hearts. "Spoilers…" His last word happened to be aimed at River.

"I don't understand," River muttered, "we've met lots of times, surely, you've been to the Byzantium to take care of the weeping angel. You were there with me! And the Pandorica, you can't have forgotten-"

"No, River." The Doctor interrupted. His eyes bored River's as he smiled at her as if trying to lighten the mood, but sadness lied before those brown orbs. "I haven't done any of that. Nor will I know if I _will _go through whatever you're saying if you continue telling me future events in my life."

River felt shattered. "Not even the angels in Manhattan?" She tried.

The Doctor slowly nodded. "The more you list my future events, the more problems this can cause to time itself… I think it's best that you leave."

He raised an arm and faced it towards the TARDIS door. With the snap of his fingers, the doors creaked opened revealing Rome on 51st century Earth. The rest were slightly overwhelmed at the fact that they've already landed. The Doctor looked at River and gave a soft smile. "Don't forget to give your handsome Time Agent this," he produced the Vortex Manipulator.

River arched a brow and took it from him. "It's not fixed," she said.

"And it should stay like that," he simply replied. "Time travel without external protection isn't good-"

"Yes, I know you told me before." She chipped in.

The Doctor frowned as River simply whispered "_Spoilers_…" She smiled at him and sauntered out of the TARDIS. "I'll see you next time."

The Doctor watched her figure grow further and further away until only the view of the Colesseum was in sight. Only this time, it was battered from time and surrounded by modern buildings. He was amazed at how after years and years, humans decide to preserve such buildings. He sighed and turned to the TARDIS.

The other two Time Lords gaped at him. Koschei was the first to speak. "Since when were you able to open the TARDIS doors with a snap of your fingers?"

The Doctor began another childish moan. Frankly, he grew sick and tired of trying to explain things recently, "_Magic._" He sarcastically answered.


	20. The Saddest Smile the Brightest

**Note: **Gah! I hope this chapter isn't too rushed!

Again, thanks _a tonne_ for the reviews! They keep me going, so keep reviewing!

And without further ado, here's Chapter 20...

* * *

The Doctor gave a manic grin and dramatically pulled a lever. The ship gave a sudden lurch and Koschei and Brax, clearly in conversation, tore their attention to The Doctor.

"What did you do?" Koschei looked slightly anxious as he witnessed The Doctor flail his arms in annoyance at the console.

"Distress signal!" The Doctor excitedly blurted. "I got a distress signal and the source is coming from Aridius…"

Koschei arched a brow. "The desert planet in the Binary Star System?"

"Yup." The Doctor replied, popping the 'p'.

"I heard that planet got into a lot of debt because of the sudden droughts and desperate needs of a new water supply." Brax sighed, "The last time I was there, it was completely covered by oceans. It was beautiful…"

**~DW~**

The Doctor hurried out of the TARDIS, beckoning the two Time Lords to hurry up. "Quick! I just checked the reports and the distress signal came from a crashed ship. We need to help the survivors…"

Koschei and Brax couldn't hear the last words, as The Doctor grew further away from them

Koschei sighed. "Crashed space ship… Is he looking for trouble or trouble finds him?"

Brax laughed at the question. "It's more of a Yin and Yan thing; Theta can't live without trouble and visa versa."

The two Time Lords rushed out of the TARDIS and tried to catch up with the Doctor. The heat of the desert hit them at once and the thought of going back to wear something more cooler was erased as they witnessed a colossal crater dented into the planets surface.

"What a crash…" Koschei gasped.

They spotted The Doctor struggling to drag a green alien out from the ruins and immediately ran to him.

"What the hell happened here?" Brax exclaimed. His head scanned the remains of the space ship and frowned. Koschei grunted as he grabbed a wounded alien under the arms and dragged it from under the cockpit.

"What… What happened?" The alien in The Doctor's grasp murmured.

"You've just crashed your ship." The Doctor muttered. "I'm going to have to take that mask off to allow some air into you." He laid the alien on the ground and carefully removed the mask off the alien. He put on his glasses and pulled out a stethoscope from his seeming bigger on the inside pockets. "I need to check you're in tact, what species are you?"

The alien mumbled, "Si… Silurian…"

"_Good_,"

"Doctor, I see a few more Silurians in the cock pit." Brax crouched to get a view of the cockpit. "One looks severely harmed but the rest are fine…"

The Doctor looked at the Silurian. "How many are on board?"

"Six including me… This is a cargo ship…"

The Doctor sighed in relief and looked at the alien in reassurance. "Don't worry, I've got a ship. We can help you."

The alien nodded in thanks and it's eyes rolled back and fell to unconsciousness.

**~DW~**

The TARDIS door slammed open as The Doctor carried the unconscious Silurian in. He telepathically nudged the TARDIS.

_"TARDIS, Could you move the med bay closer to me, I need seven beds prepped and some morphine for this one." _He indicated the alien in his arms.

The TARDIS hummed at The Doctor's call and he smiled in approval. Koschei entered not too long and panted as he carried two aliens on each shoulders, followed by Brax with two more on both his shoulders.

The Doctor blinked. "Where's the last Silurian?"

Koschei moaned, "Well there was a bloody _skinny_ idiot who could only carry _one_…"

The Doctor scowled at the remark and placed the alien he carried onto the TARDIS floor. Rapidly, he removed his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves as he legged it out onto the crash site. "Bring this one to the Med Bay. It's not too far from the console room. You won't miss it."

The Doctor approached the crash site and gasped at the new sight. The fires engulfing the ship were more ferocious than the last time he was there. Instantly, he dashed towards the cockpit. _Great_. They left the severely wounded alien last… Carefully, the Time Lord clambered into the cockpit through the shattered window. The booming sound of an explosion reverberated within the ship and with that, The Doctor began to lift the Silurian until the ship controls started beeping. He glared at the screen and moaned.

"Nuclear engines?! Why is everything nuclear when I'm around?" He continued reading the monitor and the computer gave a loud whine followed by sparks violently escaping the appliance. "Ah…"

And with that, The Doctor ran to the window. He winced as his abdomen scraped a shard of glass protruding from the window frame and cursed in Gallifreyan. The fires became more violent and The Doctor began coughing harshly as his respiratory bypass system kicked in. Smoke engulfed the cockpit and his eyes began to water from a stinging sensation. His vision became blurry and he glanced at his red stained shirt. He was losing a lot of blood. "Not good," he muttered.

He saw a glint of blond and noticed Koschei running towards him.

"What the hell?" Koschei shouted as he saw a grin play around the corner of The Doctor's lips.

"Nuclear engines…" The Doctor slurred. "Space ship go boom, boom…"

Koschei glanced at the burning wreck; eyes widened as he grabbed the fainting Doctor and alien and dragged them to the TARDIS.

**~DW~**

Brax placed the fifth alien onto the bed and heard the TARDIS door open, followed by the shouting of Koschei.

"Brax! Get in here! The Doctor's hurt himself…"

Immediately, Brax ran to the console room to find his brother on top of Koschei's left shoulder bleeding.

He gasped in horror. "Sweet baby Rassilon…"

"Shut up and get this thing flying, the cargo ship's gonna explode!"

Brax tore his attention to Koschei, "what?"

Koschei rolled his eyes. "Nuclear engine's on critical conditions now _fly_!" He roared.

Brax groaned and darted towards the console. He pulled the dematerialisation lever without even doing pre piloting protocols.

The TARDIS lurched and dematerialised as Koschei and Brax heard a thunderous explosion. The thundering noise echoed through the TARDIS console room; the cacophonous sound of bending steel snapped The Doctor to a little bit of sense. He murmured and slowly lifted his eyelids. He realised he was drifting above the TARDIS floor. _What?_ He frowned as he realised he was slumped uncomfortably on Koschei's shoulder. "What the hell?"

The Doctor wriggled on Koschei's shoulder and Koschei took as a sign that he wanted to get off his shoulders. Cautiously, the Time Lord clambered from Koschei and tried to stand up. The Doctor stumbled a bit and Brax rounded on him for support.

"I'll take this one into bed," Koschei indicated the last alien on his shoulder. "You take care of Theta." And with that, he rushed into the med bay.

The Doctor arched a brow. "What just happened?"

"I don't know, I was here taking care of the aliens while you were out there. But whatever your friend just did saved your life." Brax put an arm under The Doctor's and help him up as they walked to the med bay. "You're losing a lot of blood…"

The Doctor studied his blood stained shirt. "I gathered." He frowned at the sight of a green liquid stain on his shirt. "And so is that Silurian…"

**~DW~**

"Good thing you stored some blood packs," Brax said in a matter of fact tone. He placed a needle connected to a blood pack into The Doctor's arm.

The Doctor had the face of a schoolboy who just fell over and grinned. His hair was sticking in many directions and black soot covered his baby shaven face. He breathed in, but grimaced in pain. He stared at his bandaged abdomen and thanked Time Lord biology and his high healing factor. Frankly, he didn't look like someone who just came out from a ship about to explode.

"So can you tell us what happened to your ship?" Brax sat next to a fully healed Silurian-thanks to highly advanced Time Lord medical technology.

"We were about to deliver some of our medical tech to the Reptoids, but a ship inhibited with humans fired at us."

The Doctor looked up. "Really? You sure it's not one of those teenage aliens doing a hit n run in their ship and misfiring at you? 85 percent of crashes are caused by rowdy teenagers…" He babbled.

Everyone's attention was grabbed at the shrill cry of a bleeding Silurian. Green liquid oozed from it's side as Koschei cursed and tended the open wound.

"I need some morphine." His voice began to rise as he injected the alien with a sedative. The cries soon died out and The Doctor looked in sympathy. Then he turned to the Silurian he first saved.

"So…" He stood up, making sure _his_ wound won't open after seeing that incident. "What's your name?"

"Vastra." The alien replied.

The Doctor smiled. "That's a nice name." Vastra smiled at that remark.

He cleared his throat and turned to Koschei who was bandaging the wounded Silurian. "We should get them back home."

At once, Koschei nodded and headed towards the console room with Brax in tow. The Doctor waited and when the TARDIS lurched, he turned to Vastra,

"We're taking the shortcut towards the Earth's core, you'll be home in no time." The Doctor pointed his head at the sleeping Silurian. "Make sure he gets a lot of rest before he gets up on his feet."

"Thank you."

The Doctor looked at Vastra. "Really, it's nothing… It's part of the job…"

Vastra smirked, "I can see it in your eyes. You do this all the time. I'm happy there are others out there who have a heart. But that comes at a price, am I right, Doctor?"

Vastra's eyes bore The Doctor's. He had sadness and hurt behind those brown orbs, but smiled no less. "There's something I read in the scriptures of our people. We do not fully understand the true meaning of this certain passage, but I think it's some sort of a prophecy. It said 'the loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest..."

**~DW~**

The Doctor slid against a wall and sat hunched. He felt worried. He neglected to tell anyone that something felt very off and it made him feel _sick_. The sort of feeling he gets when he comes near Jack for example, seeing as Jack is a fixed point in time. Time Lords have the ability to sense big events that are meant to occur in time. Well, The Doctor for now, can sense so. And that feeling lurked around him. He just couldn't put his finger on it and scrubbed his face with his hands.

"Are you okay?"

The Doctor looked up and saw Koschei enter the TARDIS.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired, that's all…" He cleared his throat. "Do you sense anything… weird?"

Koschei gave The Doctor a quizzical look. "No, do you?"

"It's probably the wound messing with my senses." The Doctor indicated his bandaged abdomen and pulled a face. That was probably the most stupidly illogical thing in the world of medical science he must have said, but Koschei simply nodded. "Where's Brax?"

"Helping the Silurians get into a healing coma."

The Doctor nodded as Koschei went back out to help Brax.

A new and dreadful thought crossed his mind and he whimpered. He closed his eyes and tried to push the thought away as he remembered what Vastra told him back at the med bay.

_"The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do. But when that day comes, when he knocks four times, the world will be free of it's prison."_


	21. Banana Ice Cream

**Note: **Oh dear... my internet connection went all wibbly wobbly for the past couple of days and I've been meaning to post this chapter!

It actually took some time writing this up. At times I had to scrap some drafts and start from scratch. Yeah, I found it rather hard writing Chapter 21 since I had to make a bit of a transition from what just happened in the previous chapter. I managed to think of something, shedding a bit of light, so I hope I did this chapter justice!

Please continue reviewing! They keep me going and I try my best to reply to all of them!

Ah! Enough of my garble! Here's Chapter 21!

* * *

If there's one thing The Doctor has never done in an awful long time, it was sleep. The TARDIS offered a vast array of rooms-one surprisingly being a bedroom. In fact, The Doctor's bedroom.

Not too long ago, Koschei spotted his friend on a _very_ rare trip to his room. He swore he noticed a glint of sickness on The Doctor's face and plucked the guts to approach him.

"You okay? You've been dreadfully quiet since the Silurian ship crash…" Koschei's voice faltered as The Doctor faced him. His once untamed brown spiky hair was plastered to his sweaty forehead. The area around his eyes were darkened and emphasised thanks to his extremely pale face that revealed his freckles. He was clearly tired and that was what worried Koschei. The Doctor has _never_ been tired. Never in nine hundred years of Koschei's life has he _ever_ seen The Doctor look so weak.

The Doctor gave a wry smile. "I just feel a little off, that's all…" He lied, giving a tentative shrug. "I need a little time by myself. The TARDIS needs refueling at the Rift in Cardiff. Why don't you and Brax visit Jack in the Torchwood Hub while I take a little rest?" Koschei studied his friend trudge into his room until the door was shut.

_Something was wrong…_

**~DW~**

"Well, if it isn't the two long lost Time Lords," An American voice called out. "I detected a flux in time and space coming from here and wondered what it could be." A tone of sarcasm could easily have been detected. Jack approached Shay and Brax, smiling playfully. "What brings you here, yet again? Don't tell me," He raised a hand stopping Brax from saying anything. "Don't tell me there's another Time Lord around."

Brax looked hesitant. "Another Time Lord?"

"The TARDIS just needed refueling." Koschei chipped in, looking at Brax in desperation.

"Ah, explains abit..." Jack trailed off. He raised a brow. "Where's Doc?"

Koschei shrugged. "He's resting," pointing his head at the TARDIS.

"That's new." Jack blurted, rather surprised by this new revelation. "Well, I can't be long. I've gotta monitor the Rift on my own since my team are investigating strange activities in Italy." He frowned in thought. "Something about vampires in Venice, but that's just rumours." He waved the last part off after seeing the exchanged glances between Koschei and Brax.

The sound of static interrupted everyone and the two Time Lords turned to Jack. He produced a walkie talkie from his pocket and pressed the 'receive' button.

_"Captain, loose aliens on a run. Possible suspects of theft. They're heading south west towards your position."_

Jack glanced at the two and gave them a wry smile. "You can scrub in if you want."

"Sure," Brax nodded. His voice suddenly faltered as he remembered something. "What about The Doctor?"

Koschei fell into a brief pause. "I think he's got a lot on his mind, let's go without him so we can rub it in his face."

Jack grinned. "I like you."

**~DW~**

Koschei _never_ understood why Earth seemed to be some sort of alien hotspot. He finally acknowledged Jack's job after facing three alien incidences, one in particular was dealing with a group of mafia cyborgs who threatened to kill them unless they returned home safely. Fortunately, Jack was on the cyborg's side so things went out rather smoothly. It wasn't until a throng of people protesting against aliens caught them. Well, you can guess what happens next: an awful lot of running. Another point Koschei never understood was the fact that The Doctor said Earth was working in peace with aliens. That's probably another question he'll hopefully find an answer to.

When Jack got the all clear, Brax decided it was time to part. And that's what they did. Partially because he didn't want to interrupt Jack's team reunion after receiving the news that they are on their way to Cardiff from Venice.

Koschei and Brax sat on a sea wall, feet dangling over the ocean waters relishing on well deserved ice cream cones under the gentle warmth of the sun. The Doctor, however, didn't come out to accompany the two Time Lords, making Shay utterly uneasy.

"He's never been this awfully quiet…" Koschei trailed off.

At once, Brax knew who he was referring to. "I can understand if he's been alone for nearly three quarters of his life so far, and suddenly discovers he's not the only one," Brax murmured. He proceeded with his cold desert.

"I guess so…" Koschei airily replied. He finally started munching on his cone, but frowned as he realised the uneaten banana-flavoured ice cream with chocolate sprinkles he held in his other hand. "Theta said he was going to come out, his ice cream's melting…"

The two Time Lords exchanged glances and glowered at the cold banana ice treat. Koschei was the first to give a mischievous grin.

**~DW~**

The Doctor was splayed on his bed. He woke up from a way needed nap and felt physically better. His looked up and studied the hologram of space in all its glory on his ceiling; the moons that orbited planets and planets that orbited suns that are simply glistening stars. Asteroids hurtling in different directions, emitting a beautiful glow relative to its nearest sun. Other matter left over from the creation on the universe drifting here and there whilst galaxies orbit other galaxies as the universe continues its almighty expansion. The Doctor scowled. It was only a mere image, specifically a hologram of the universe being projected by the TARDIS, yet he treated it like the real Universe he used to grow and love. He started to wonder if the Universe really was on his side… A warm sensation passed through his body, making him relax a little.

His mind delved into another endless train of thought. A new side he never thought he'll never want to visit. Thoughts of things he never wanted to remember. The Time War, his companions… oh, those bright and shining companions… Donna, Martha, Jack, Wilf, Rose…

_Rose…_

The Doctor stifled a sob and scrunched his eyes in an attempt to prevent any tears shed. His mind shifted to Vastra's words.

_"When he knocks four times, the world will be free of it's prison…"_

What if that prophecy still exists? The Time Lord whimpered at the thought. 'Four times', what does that mean? And what is the world's 'prison'? Questions after questions circled his perplexed mind.

Suddenly, The Doctor frowned. He's being a pessimistic idiot again. He's escaped death countless times for goodness sake!

The Doctor's mind tore from thought as the TARDIS emitted a soft hum. Feeling fresh, the Time Lord bounded from his bed and dashed towards the Console Room. No Shay or Brax could be seen until he checked the monitors and remembered they made a pit stop to refuel.

He sauntered towards the TARDIS doors and opened it, expecting a rainy Wales. Instead, he smiled and hummed in surprise as the heat of Cardiff sunrays danced around his face. He gazed at the rather cosy surroundings of the bay and sniffed. The cool sea breeze certainly felt refreshing to his Time Lord senses. Not everyday you get to experience temperate, sunny days in Cardiff so the Time Lord closed his eyes for a moment to let in the comforting warmth. He thought he caught a glimpse of blond but casually ignored it.

That was until he felt something cold and sticky that smelt and tasted of banana splatter across his face.

The Doctor swore he heard the sound of pattering footsteps gradually die away along with an annoyingly familiar laugh.


	22. Drama Llama

**Note: **Ah! Sorry for the delays! You'll expect little updates for the meantime as I frankly haven't written any drafts for the next chapters! I know! I should be punished! Hopefully, it would be worth the wait...

Oh, and yet again, thank you so much for the favourites, follows and reviews! They keep me going, so keep doing what you do! :"D

For the meantime, enjoy Chapter 22!

* * *

"Pen Haxico 2!" The Doctor dashed around the TARDIS console, flicking and pressing switches, clearly forgetting there were two other able TARDIS pilots present. "I figured we should stop for a little vacation and _blimey_, you gotta see the tropical beaches. They have _rainbow coloured sand_!"

Koschei arched a brow. "You just want to go there because of the rainbow coloured sand, don't you?"

"No…" The Doctor replied as if pointing out the obvious.

Brax laughed and grinned at The Doctor's "starfish" position on the console. His foot was on the space/time throttles whilst both hands were occupied with other controls. "You know, me and Koschei _do_ know how to fly the TARDIS. There are six panels on the console so why do you let us have two panels each? You do weird positions on the poor TARDIS console."

Koschei chortled at the last remark and The Doctor's ears turned pink in embarrassment. Seeing the poor Time Lord outsmarted made him feel bad and he tried to make his friend feel better. "Can you believe it? He's been flying the TARDIS by himself for _seven hundred_ years!"

Brax looked at his brother in admiration, "seven hundred years by yourself and you pilot a six man ship through space and time? I'm impressed, Theta."

The Doctor smiled and nodded his head at Koschei in thanks.

**~DW~**

The TARDIS landed smoothly thanks to three Time Lords piloting it. The Doctor was the first to pop out and smiled like a little boy at the first sight of rainbow coloured beaches. Koschei walked up not too long from The Doctor. He wore a black polo shirt with loose beach shorts. The sound of rainbow sand made him wonder if he would like to put his feet in it and decided to wear trainers. Brax was the last to come out. He wore a light blue shirt with beach shorts, like Koschei. Koschei and Brax looked at The Doctor.

"You sure you wanna wear that?" Koschei indicated The Doctor's blue suit, "we're in a tropical planet, and you're going to roast…"

The Doctor, oblivious to the remark, smiled at a resort nearby. "Look! They have a little shop! I love a little shop," and with that, he bound off and beckoned the other two to come with him. "C'mon! Let's meet some locals!"

Koschei and Brax exchanged glances.

Brax arched a brow. "Is he always this… _jittery_?"

"Believe me, you should be thankful he's like this. You wouldn't want to see him go all "Oncoming Storm"…"

Brax laughed. "I thought that was all just stuff of legend."

Koschei's voice became a little serious. "Your little brother over there." he pointed his head at The Doctor talking to a cyborg. "I've seen him. Whole armies have turned and ran away with the mention of his name. He's faced too many deaths and carried burdens over his skinny shoulders. He's like a trouble magnet, even if he doesn't mean any harm. Because of that, he's being too kind to the universe. He's scared he could trample over it in an instant-" His voice faltered at The Doctor's sudden frantic waving in the distance making everyone in the lobby stare at the Time Lord. Koschei pulled a face.

Brax, however, gave a cheeky grin. "Trouble magnet? Well he's certainly magnetising attention..." He arched a brow and gave a tentative cough. "No pun intended." Koschei snorted at the remark.

They sauntered towards an excited Doctor as he gestured them towards the beach volleyball court. Three identical blue aliens stood on one side of the court of rainbow coloured sand glancing longingly at the three Time Lords.

Koschei was the first to grin. "How about that? Do they want us to play volleyball?"

The Doctor and his brother exchanged glances and looked back to Shay.

"Yup," The Doctor replied, popping the 'p'.

"I don't see why not," Brax chipped in.

Koschei was slightly taken aback by Brax's response. "It's not like you to want to join in…" He trailed off.

"A game of volleyball?" The Doctor exclaimed, as if Koschei missed the obvious.

"How can I miss a game of volleyball?" Brax chuckled. "Haven't played it since way back."

The Doctor grinned at Koschei's confused look. "Our family had a volleyball team to represent the Prydonian House. Me and Brax were in the team."

"We were the volleyball champions of Gallifrey," Brax finished, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, no offence but your family were trashed quite heavily by us during the semi finals."

Before Shay attempted to say anything his friend grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the volleyball court.

_"Allons-y!"_

**~DW~**

Koschei stood in the volleyball court absolutely flustered by the situation. If there was one more word to add to describe The Doctor, it was _competitive_. Scrap that, he's _bloody_ competitive. Let's not get started on Brax…

"The serviceman can only enter the court _after_ the ball has crossed the net, you don't run and serve the ball! Blimey, don't they teach you this?"

The Doctor was screaming a string of volleyball rules to the other team as the aliens scowled at the Time Lord. Likewise, Brax shouted the odd Gallifreyan curse every time the opposing team "weren't playing according to the rules".

The cyborg referee, already annoyed, blew his whistle as the brothers pestered the poor robot, demanding for a replay.

Koschei sighed as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He gazed up and squinted at the ball of fire Pen Haxico had to offer. His throat burned from thirst and the volleyball game certainly wasn't helping.

Brax served the ball with professionalism as his brother rounded the net. Koschei took his place between the brothers and frowned in concentration as the blue alien hit the ball back towards the Time Lords.

"The Doctor's!" The Doctor yelled as he dived for the hurtling ball. He hit it back to the opposing team and they returned it.

That was when the Doctor began to start shouting in the middle of the game for the sixth time. He pointed accusingly at the opposing team. "Your hands must be closed at all times when hitting the ball! Ref! I demand we get a point for that!"

"Why?!" Koschei cried out. "Why are you such a pain? It's a only a game of volleyball for crying out loud! You don't have to get competitive!"

It was obvious The Doctor was getting too far into the game. Shay studied his friend for a moment. His blue suit was now transformed. The jacket sleeves were rolled up, giving him the look of a rugged schoolboy, but the rolled up trousers demolished the look. Koschei laughed quietly at that.

The Doctor paid no attention to his friend as he scampered towards the referee. Brax smiled wryly at Shay, "Runs in the family…"

**~DW~**

The sound of alarms distracted Koschei and The Doctor ran over to the two Time Lords. It was like the volleyball game never happened. "Oi! What are you two standing there for? I just overheard transmissions on one of the planetary guard's radio, the planet's core reactor is gonna overheat and Pen Haxico 2 goes bye bye!"

Koschei sighed, "Why don't we just let them deal with it?"

The Doctor moaned, "Where's the fun in that? C'mon, Shay! You're gonna miss in on the action!"

Koschei gave in and turned to Brax. "Trouble magnet."

On the bright side, he wouldn't have to deal with The Doctor's "sporting spirit".

They started to run after The Doctor who was already a mile ahead of them.

**~DW~**

"I need those cables, Shay!" The Doctor frantically dashed around the control room with Brax in tow carrying some rods. The Doctor let out a rather loud sigh, "Seriously? They use nuclear power in a _tropical_ country?! Of course it's bound to overheat! Shay! What's happening to my Class-1E cables?"

Koschei scowled as he spent the last few minutes trying to untangle the Class-1E cables from a giant knot of non-Class-1E cables.

"Ten minutes until core reactor failure." The computer spoke in a soft feminine voice. Koschei frowned.

"We don't have much time!" The Doctor shouted over the sound of alarms and the high-pitched squeal of his sonic screwdriver.

"Yes, no crap, Sherlock!" Koschei shouted back.

The sound of glass shattering got Koschei and The Doctor's attention as Brax walked into the room scratching the back of his head. "Theta, the rods aren't doing so well…"

The Doctor sighed. He removed his glasses and scrunched the bridge of his nose and tousled his hair, making it stick in many directions. "If stopping the nuclear fission won't work, we're gonna have to stabilise the reactor by getting the water pump to work. So much for the short cut… And _that's_ why I need the Class-1E cables _now_!"

Koschei glared at his friend get to work at the condenser. Brax scuttled back to retrieve the control rods from the reactor vessel, leaving him to get the goddamn cables.

"Seven minutes until core reactor failure." Came the soft feminine voice of the computer.

"Seven minutes!" The Doctor shouted.

Koschei controlled himself from flipping out as he came to a point where he felt like throwing The Doctor into the reactor and running away.

**~DW~**

"Core reactor stabilised. Have a nice day." Came the soft feminine reply of the computer as the three Time Lords were panting.

"You need a little reprogramming," Koschei growled.

**~DW~**

"Ah! You must be the ones who helped stabilise the reactor. I humbly thank you. If there is anything-"

"Just decommission the power plant and use solar power," The Doctor waved off the offer from the cyborg in charge of the maintenance of the power station. "You have _sun_, your reactors won't be able to take too much constant heat…"

Koschei walked out off the control room and gave a sardonic smile. "You're probably gonna have to get a new computer…"

Brax arched a brow at Koschei, and The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"If it was the planet or a new computer… you know what I would choose." The cyborg replied. It turned to The Doctor. "As a matter of fact, we _do_ have solar power. It provides 80% of Pen Haxico's power, but this nuclear station provides energy for our defences."

The Doctor frowned. "What are you defending yourselves from?"

"The humans, of course." The cyborg replied as if pointing out the obvious.

"Well, not _all_ humans, like you, but the anti-alien groups."

"No, no, no, we aren't humans," The Doctor laughed.

"You must have mistaken us for humans," Brax chipped in.

"No, humans look like us, we were first." The Doctor objected his brother.

Koschei rolled his eyes, "We're Time Lords."

"Well is it an honour to meet Time Lords! I though you were a myth."

Koschei cleared his throat and murmured. "We're actually the only ones left."

"Oh…" Was all the cyborg could let out and it tried to change the topic,

"Actually…." Brax came in as if he was going to admit something important, "there was something I haven't told you yet…"

"Go on…" The Doctor looked at Brax, suspicion in his eyes and eventually curiosity took over. Koschei felt a little uneasy.

Brax hesitated and spoke, "Your mum," The Doctor winced at the word. "She knew about Larna's prophecy. She was told that you would be responsible for ending the Time War-"

"And she never told me?!" The Doctor's voice rose. The cyborg jumped at his sudden outburst and nervously scampered away in a hurry. This was a conversation that needed privacy-even it's main circuits didn't need to indicate that.

"It was meant to be kept a _secret_!" Koschei protested, but The Doctor shook his head in disbelief. "Your mum told Brax to take someone with him to accompany you. She wanted you to live on…"

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock. "You knew about this all along?"

Koschei shook his head, "Only when we entered the TARDIS after we found Brax… Brax told me everything whilst you were busy flying the TARDIS, we didn't know when to tell you."

"Did it ever occur to _her_ that I would be shrouded in this loneliness for _seven hundred_ years?" The Doctor almost yelled out in anger, but instead, raised his tightly clenched fist and slammed it against the wall, emitting a loud slam that reverberated around them. Teary eyed, The Doctor stormed out of the hallway and Brax started to run after his brother until Koschei intercepted him.

"Let him cool down, Brax." Koschei turned to face the direction his friend went. "I think it's best that he gets his head around all this. He hasn't even gotten over the fact that _we _still exist."

**~DW~**

The Doctor sat on the edge of a fishing port, his legs dangling off the edge with his feet submerged in the clear green water. He let out a long sigh and ran his hands through his hair. He didn't mean to be like that back there. Brax probably hates him for that now. _Great_. His only family hates him… _Family_… He scrunched his fists and frowned and sighed. "It was probably for the best she never told me…" He murmured, referring to his mother.

What really boggled his mind was this other Time Lord. This universe _scared_ him. Yeah, it's vastness looked all tough and intimidating, but that didn't stop him from poking it with a stick. It was the fact that it was _so_ unpredictable that flustered him. Who in the slightest would ever imagine that _another_ Time Lord exists after what just happened? The Doctor shook his head. It's definitely no miracle; Koschei said Brax had to take someone.

The Doctor gave in. He gave up trying to figure out things he couldn't. Actually, he didn't think he _wanted_ to think about it. He felt something very off in the air, yet again and it made his stomach ache. He looked up at the sky and frowned.

"Something's wrong…" He murmured. The Doctor shook his head; he's _not _becoming paranoid. Frankly, this is becoming stupid, he took this opportunity to sit back, relax and take pleasure in the beautiful scenery. He wanted a _holiday_, not a drama lama…

**~DW~**

The two Time Lord's heads bobbed up at the sound of footsteps. A blue suited man sauntered in and Koschei and Brax exchanged nervous looks.

"So who's the other Time Lord you took?"

Brax's eyes bore The Doctor's. "Romana."


	23. Don't Forget

**Note: **Hi everyone! For those who follow my fanfiction activity, you may be utterly familiar with this chapter! This was meant to be a Valentines Day special (LOL) chapter, but I thought it would have been a rather good separate story, too!

Haha! Happy belated Valentines, my fellow readers!

Anyway, enjoy this chapter! *Cries in the corner after writing this up*

* * *

In vain, he would always consider himself a proper fisherman just because he would stop by the pier everyday and practise the usual routine: Choose the bait, add the appropriate hook, cast the line, wait and hook that fish. However, deep inside his conceited self, he only wanted to find an excuse to get out of work and enjoy the Norwegian Sea breeze.

Unfortunately, today seemed to be one of those days where he didn't get any lucky catches. Not even a nip at the bait could be felt, nor any swirl in the water to indicate if there _were_ any fish. He sighed and pulled off his bowler cap to wipe his sweat-beaded forehead. It was approaching the start of summer where the beaches would generally be heaving with throngs of sun tanners to hyper inner-city children. Strangely, none could be seen. He wondered for a moment at this new revelation and remembered it was Valentines Day. How silly of him! Then again, he hasn't had a girlfriend since the invasion of the unexplained metal men seven months ago. His heart ached at the thought and he stifled a silent sob; his breathe hitching. He proceeded to take this opportunity to admire his surroundings instead and move on. Everything has its time…

It was then he noticed something at the corner of his eye - something red lying along the beach. Just as humans are, curiosity took over and he packed his fishing equipment, seeing as there won't be anything to catch. He sauntered towards the source of his interest and arched a brow as he found himself gazing at what was unmistakably a fresh rose intentionally placed on this very spot on the beach.

**[5 months later]**

The pier was closed due to some maintenance. Fishing rod and bait in hand, he sighed and decided to walk along the beach instead. If there's one thing for sure, no one could say 'yes' to the utterly refreshing Sea breeze like him. He closed his eyes and took a sniff, followed by a hum in approval. However, he came to an abrupt halt as he noticed _another _red rose placed on the exact same spot on the beach from five months ago. This time, he frowned at this miraculous apparition.

**[2 years later]**

It was from that point he saw the exact same rose in the same place on the beach two times for two years so far. Specifically, on February 14 and July 8. No matter how early he woke up to visit the beach to fish, he never managed to catch a glimpse of the mysterious rose bearer. It came to a point where he annoyingly accepted the fact that he will be unable to discover the meaning behind it all, so he continued his reoccurring routine of fishing. Nonetheless, it didn't stop him from taking a glance from his accustomed fishing spot at the very spot a rose would extraordinarily appear on these two particular dates. In fact, today was the 8th July.

**~DW~**

The TARDIS lazily drifted in orbit around the planet Earth. The Doctor sat slumped against the bed, clutching a leather purple jacket. He glared at it for a long while, let out a rather long sigh and preceded to lift the jacket to his nose and smell the familiar scent he'd been unreservedly longing for. He scrunched his eyes as memories of his one and only blonde companion crashed through the doors in his mind. His eyes began to burn - each little detail of her seeping into every nook and cranny of his mind jabbed at his hearts one by one. Eventually, the pain took its toll as the Time Lord's breath hitched and he hiccupped a sob, leaving him in an emotional turmoil.

He didn't notice the blonde and brunette men peer into the bedroom giving him a look of total sympathy. "Theta…" Koschei murmured, crossing in on the broken Time Lord. Brax, however, stood by the door. Immediately, the Doctor scrubbed his face with his sleeve in an attempt to hide the tears he was longing to shed. He crouched down beside his best friend and wrapped him in an embrace, rubbing gentle circles on his back. The Doctor felt slightly relaxed. "It's today, isn't it?" He asked a little curiously.

The Doctor stared at Shay wide-eyed and he gave him a wry smile, handing him a yellow post-it note. "I found this on the console. Well, you leave many of these on the console. This one was written in English, you never write stuff in English when it's utterly necessary…" he trailed off. The Doctor took the paper from him and read it again.

_Don't forget July 8 2006_

"My constant time travelling means my timeline isn't always in the right order. I need constant reminders…" He mumbled rather embarrassingly.

The Brax chortled and so did Koschei and eventually The Doctor. His face lowered, however, as he spoke very quietly more to himself. "That's the day Rose left…" referring to the date on the note. Instantly, his head shot up to try and fight the oncoming tears. "I never got to say that I-" He caught himself and shook his head. "I never got to…" he stuttered but faltered. Instead, he buried his face into the purple jacket.

Koschei and Brax felt utterly helpless. They weren't told every detail about this Rose companion, but whoever she was, she won over The Doctor's hearts. The Doctor refused to say anymore on the subject when pestered by the two Time Lords. All they could do was to drown in his sadness. It hurt. Koschei scowled and for the second time, he judged himself and concluded his insignificant existence to the universe. 900 years of torture to him and to many innocent beings who could have played an important part to the universe, was enough evidence to prove he never deserved forgiveness to live anew.

The Doctor sensed his emotions and immediately turned to his friend. "Shay, don't you _dare_ think you are unimportant. In 900 years of time and space, I've grown to believe that each and every being in this vast universe has the potential to change everything for the good and sometimes the bad. I believe in you." Koschei looked at the Time Lord in awe. He studied his wonderful friend for a moment and smiled in approval when he concluded that The Doctor was being genuine.

"So what do we do now?" His brother asked. "We should start on looking for Romana. All I know is that she agreed to be sealed in a cryogenic unit in my TARDIS in case something happens to me. We need to find that cryo-unit."

The Doctor took a moment of deep thought. He handed Koschei the purple jacket and clambered from the ground to leave the room. He sighed, as if regretting what he was about to declare. "Before we search for Romana, I'd like to take you somewhere…" His voice couldn't be heard, as he grew further away into the depths of the TARDIS. Shay frowned slightly.

"Where?" he shouted. There was no reply, with the exception of the humming emanating from the Doctor's sentient ship.

The Time Lord came back into the room holding a freshly cut red rose. He took a deep breath and simply said "Dålig Ulv Stranden."

**~DW~**

The Doctor's frantic activity around the console began to slow down as the central column came to a halt and the hullabaloo of the TARDIS engines calmed down to a soft purr. He looked longingly at Koschei and Brax and gave them a feeble smile and back down at the rose in his hand. He pointed his head towards the doors. "Should we?"

All the two Time Lords could do was nod. They followed the Doctor as he pulled the doors apart to reveal an empty beach. A refreshing sea breeze danced around Brax's face and he closed her eyes to take it all in. Nervously, Koschei looked at The Doctor. The Doctor nervously stepped out and ambled a few paces away from the TARDIS. He stopped after exactly ten paces, as if he'd done this a million times and gently placed the flower upon the sand. "This was the exact place I left her in the other universe," he hesitated. It was Brax's turn now. At once, he stepped out of the ship to hold the Doctor as he brought his hands to his face to hide his tears. He clenched his fists and rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyes to wipe off the tears. _Why couldn't he save her?! _He rasped and screwed his eyes shut; preventing the light of reality from getting to him, yet foolishly allowing himself to the darkness eerily eating at his very soul. He could have saved her. So what if the universe collapses?

This time, great drops trickled down his cheeks; the heavy rainclouds in his mind letting loose their turbulent nature.

Koschei hurried over to tend his friend. All Brax could do was watch his little brother deteriorate. He wanted to cry with him, but his sadness was in no way measured up to all of her pains put together. Annoyingly, all Koschei and Brax could do was to take him in an embrace and whisper soothing words to calm their fellow weeping Time Lord.

What the three Time Lords didn't notice was a man who witnessed the whole scenario from the fishing pier.

**[One month later]**

Somewhere in Norway is a man who never fished in Bad Wolf Bay out of respect for a lost one.


	24. Don't Get Your Knickers in a Twist

**Note: **I must apologise for the very long delay... It seems that teachers decided to pile me with constant work and I have a feeling it will be like this for a while...

I try to work on this as much as humanly possible and I hope the waits are bearable for you. Hopefully, the wait for this particular chapty was worth it and continue reviewing as I'm always delighted to see what others think of my fic! Like always, they keep me going :)

**Oh, and on a quick note, a cryogenic unit is like a "freezer". They are used in 'A Christmas Carole' where Abigail is kept to be preserved.**

_BEHOLD_. The long overdue chapter!

* * *

"Brax, you said Romana was sealed in a cryogenic unit inside your TARDIS; I'm assuming this was before you got touched by that Weeping Angel?" The Doctor played around with his hair and eventually started styling it in front of a mirror he discretely pulled out from his pocket.

"Yes." His brother replied. "Do you think it might have got her?" He asked with worry in his voice.

The Doctor looked up for a moment and proceeded with his personal grooming. "Weeping Angels are smarter than you think. I presume whilst your TARDIS was in flight, the Angel must have detected the time lock activating and fled."

"If that's the case, wouldn't Romana's body _still_ be in Brax's TARDIS all frozen up in a cryogenic unit?" Koschei chipped in.

"Exactly what I'm thinking…" The Doctor trailed off, frowning at a strand of brown hair flopping to his forehead.

"Wait," Brax interrupted. "I don't detect the presence of my TARDIS."

The Doctor arched a brow. "Are you sure? I took the liberty to scan and track any signs of sentient time sensitive life form and fluctuating temporal energy. I'm pretty certain I've found something…"

"That's impossible…" Brax breathed.

"That's two letters too long," The Doctor replied. "Anything's possible and I've learnt that ever since I found out I'm not the only one. Maybe the universe really _is _on our side." He released the brakes as the TARDIS hurtled through the time vortex.

"A little warning before you do that!" Koschei shouted over the noise of the engines. He grabbed two panels of the console and so did Brax. Soon, the flight became much smoother as the three Time Lords piloted the ship towards Romana.

The Doctor was grinning from ear to ear. Never in 900 years has he felt so _alive_. With the company of his best friend, his brother and eventually one of his closest companions, he prayed to dear Omega that nothing or no one, or even a fleet of Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans put together would tear their bonds apart.

Koschei glanced at the monitor and frowned. "That's weird, Brax's TARDIS in orbit around Earth 3054. That's where we found him!"

"I don't understand, how have I not felt it's presence all this time? I understand how it could have reached Earth since I programmed it to orbit around my location if I'm not in it and it's in flight…" He trailed off, contemplating on the many possible reasons. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at The Doctor's face.

"Brax, look on the bright side. Romana is still there waiting for us."

The Doctor was right; always the optimistic one. Brax smiled, not just because of Romana but because he was proud to be Theta's brother, despite all the wrong he committed against him back in Gallifrey; back when that damned Rassilon took over.

The TARDIS lurched and the glowing central column was glowing no more. They've stopped in orbit around Earth 3054 and the ship gave another wobble, as if they hit something.

Immediately, Brax darted towards the doors and pulled them apart to reveal nothing but the empty inky blackness of space. His smile instantly fell and he slammed his clenched fist against the doorframe. "So much for _this_." He muttered. "So much for _optimism_." He said louder.

"Oi! Don't get your knickers in a twist." The Doctor exclaimed. "I'm still detecting a fluctuation in temporal energy…"

"Don't say that again," Koschei mumbled.

"Never plan on saying it either…" He mumbled back. Then he turned to Brax. "There is definitely something right in front of us-"

Suddenly, Brax held his hand up, indicating his brother to be quiet. "I can feel her… I can sense my TARDIS! It's here!"

The Doctor smacked his forehead. "Oh, I'm stupid. I'm Mr Thick with a _head_!"

"Yeah…" Koschei chuckled. His friend shot him a glare

"Don't get your knickers is a twist," The Doctor teased making his blonde friend's head drop in annoyance and embarrassment. He turned back to Brax.

"Brax, I want you to imagine you are opening a curtain; like you're revealing something and behind those windows, picture any form you want your TARDIS to take."

At once, Brax shot a look at his brother. "What?"

Like great minds thinking alike, the imaginary light bulb lit up above Koschei. "What your brother's trying to say is that your TARDIS must be invisible right now. I'm assuming it's to be undetected under the radar since _this_ Earth doesn't like any alien life form or technology near them." He pointed his head towards the planet out the door. "Since it's _your_ TARDIS, you must have some sort of psychic bond between you and your ship, like Theta. That's why he can open the doors with a snap of his fingers. Controlling your ship psychically is pretty possible."

The Doctor peered at Shay. "Way to spoil my magic," he murmured.

At once, Brax understood what the two Time Lords were implying and imagined a curtain. He opened that curtain and wondered what form his TARDIS could take. At once, he smiled.

It looked as if the empty space was being coloured in by a child. Colour magically appeared out of nowhere and soon, a familiar shade of blue came into sight. Followed by the regular 3d shape of a cuboid standing upwards and a light on top to finish it off. Two doors appeared on the front, followed by white windows, panels and the one and only "Police Public Call Box" sign on all four sides. His eyes still closed, Brax heard the chuckle of his brother.

"Out of all the objects in this universe your TARDIS can take form or, why the same one as your brother's?" Koschei exclaimed.

Brax shrugged, "It just looks nice…"

Koschei laughed in exasperation. "He's rubbing off on you," referring to The Doctor. However, he didn't notice Brax and his brother immediately bolt off into the now discovered TARDIS. He sighed and scratched the back of his head as he proceeded towards the door.

What he didn't notice was The Doctor's TARDIS' screech of pain and anger emanating from deep within the console room. It wasn't loud enough for The Doctor himself to hear or feel, but enough to make Koschei shiver and glare at the console. He scowled and hopped from The Doctor's TARDIS to Brax's.

The console room was in pretty tip-top shape considering it was left alone for two years. It had the homely feel of a ski lodge and the sleekness of a modern home. White walls encapsulated the six-sided console, giving a similar look to The Doctor's previous console background. A black sofa was placed near the console, but not too near to obstruct a pilot. The room had two levels: the bottom level consisting of the console itself and the top floor a fully windowed ceiling revealing the vast and beautiful scenery of space.

The Doctor whistled in admiration as he continued gazing around his surroundings in awe. "Nice Type 57 TARDIS. You know I was planning on upgrading mine to a Type 57, but I got a little distracted with something else. I wanted to upgrade to a Type 70 so I can break through a temporal distortion grid…" He trailed off.

What looked like a coffin was spotted against the wall next to the giant screen Koschei assumed was used for scanning new areas. He nudged to Doctor and pointed at the cryogenic unit. Brax was already standing in front of it, gazing into the circular window that revealed the cold and seeming lifeless face of Romana. The Doctor was the first to dash towards the unit and shove Brax out of the way to catch a longing gaze at the companion he never thought would be alive. He peered into the window and the sight hit him like a bomb. This woman wasn't the black haired Romanadvoratrelundar he knew, but a stranger with short brown hair and sharp facial features. The Doctor gasped and backed away from the unit. Immediately, he shot a look at Brax who showed no emotion.

"That is not Romana," The Doctor muttered.

Brax looked up to his brother's eyes. His face showed guilt and desperation. "Yes it is, I can explain."

The Doctor stubbornly and angrily shook his head. "It's not," he growled. "It's _not_." He repeated louder.

Confused, Koschei looked into the window to see what the fuss was about.

"She _regenerated_!" Brax shouted. At once, both Time Lords looked at him in utter shock.

"Wh-_what_?!" The Doctor choked out.

Brax was looking down at the floor unable to meet The Doctor's and Koschei's eyes. "Whilst fleeing from the Time War, she got shot by a Dalek. Being the so-called "War Queen" back in the Time War certainly grabbed a lot of attention wherever she went. The real reason she was in a cryogenic sleep was because she needed to rest after regeneration without any distractions. This wasn't some sort of back up in case something happened to me."

All The Doctor could do was gaze at the coffin. "Romana…" he breathed. He drew in a breath and proceeded towards Romana. He placed a hand on the window and let it trail all the way down to the handle. He recalled his academy days and the lesson on recovering a person from a cryogenic unit - the protocols before releasing the latch and opening the door otherwise the person wouldn't thaw fully. He played with a few buttons and the unit let out a hiss as steam escaped the pod. Gradually, colour came to the woman's face as her whole body steadily defrosted.

Brax stared at his brother wide eyed. "Aren't you mad at me for lying to you?"

The Doctor simply looked up to his brother with an emotionless expression and looked back down to Romana. He placed his fingers on her cold neck and sighed in relief as he felt faint pulses. "The first heart has started working," he mumbled.

Koschei edged in next to his friend and crouched down to help with the procedure. "Theta, when she wakes up, she'll see me…"

The Doctor chortled. "Of course she will! It doesn't mean you can flirt with her."

"I'm serious, Theta. She's seen what I was like; a killer, a sadistic idiot with no hearts and mercy, a _monster_. For all I know, she will wake up and see me and try to kill me."

The Doctor chuckled silently. "Romana's not like that."

"She was the "_War Queen_", you idiot." He complained.

The Doctor laughed at the remark and chose to ignore Shay. He studied the woman and noticed the slow rise and fall of her chest. Suddenly his fingers felt two pulses and his eyes lit up with determination.

Koschei looked up and noticed Brax's absence. "That's weird… Brax just disappeared."

"I saw him walk out of his TARDIS, just leave him." The Doctor grumbled.

"You shouldn't give your brother a hard time." Koschei said as he picked himself up to find Brax. "He tried his best to look after Romana," he approached the TARDIS doors and peered out. "And look on the bright side, she's-"

The Doctor frowned and continued focusing on recovering Romana. "She's what?"

There was no answer.

The Doctor looked up, but there was no Brax nor Koschei to be seen. "_Oi_! Come back here! I need you to-"

He was cut off as he felt a stinging pain in his arm. Instantly, he noticed a needle protruding from his bicep and felt the foreign drug pump into his system. It all turned black from then on.


	25. The Short Cut

**Note: **And behold! Here is Chapter 25!

As usual, thanks so much for the reviews and favourites! They keep me going :)

Enjoy!

* * *

He felt his body slam against a wall and tried to bottle in the pained groans to detract any attention from his captors. The zap of what The Doctor had assumed was an energy barrier followed by footsteps could be heard, but the telepathic scream of the TARDIS was what halted his train of thought. Immediately, his body shivered and his eyes flashed open as he shot up, gasping at the TARDIS' pain he felt through his psychic bond. The Doctor clambered from his fetal position and sprinted out the room he was held captive in, only to crash into a transparent energy barrier and convulse in pain as volts of electricity flowed through his body. He slumped to the ground rasping and coughing as he clutched his abdomen.

"It's no use, the energy barriers here are practically impenetrable. And whatever "here" is, I have no idea…" It was Koschei. He sat hunched against a wall in his own prison cell opposite The Doctor's rubbing his reddened knuckles.

The Doctor blinked. "Shay?"

"Yeah?"

Before he had time to say how relieved he was to see his friend, another thought struck him and he panicked. "Where's Romana? She hasn't fully thawed! Where is she, I need to get out and find her!"

"For once, can you stop worrying about others and worry about yourself?" A woman's voice bellowed from the depths of The Doctor's dark prison. He didn't expect another prisoner with him, but somehow, the voice seemed vaguely familiar and he squinted to catch a glance at his new partner. He turned back to look at Koschei, but he was just as confused. "Look at you. You throw yourself at an energy barrier sending 230 000 volts of electricity through you and all you care about is this Romana? It's a good thing Time Lords can resist that amount of electricity unlike humans. Why don't you _stay alive_ before you reach her? God, you're hard work, young!"

"_Young?_" The Doctor hissed. He edged closer towards the figure. "Who are you?"

He heard the voice sigh. "Oh, it pains me every time you say that."

Faint light shone upon the woman's face and it was The Doctor's turn to sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. "_River_?"

"Hello, Sweetie." She smiled.

He frowned, "I thought we sent you to Earth 3054?"

"You did," another very familiar voice chipped in. "That was when she dropped off my vortex manipulator and _BAM_!" He clapped his hands, as if trying to re-eanact an explosion. "These people in blue somehow break through Torchwood defences and kidnap me and that fine woman over there." The last part was directed at River and she smirked.

"_Jack_?!" The Doctor gaped. The tall American leaned against the wall looking beat up.

"Thankfully, only me and her were taken. The rest of my team were unaffected and they can look after themselves."

"I don't understand…" The Doctor trailed off.

"Usually, whoever would infiltrate a heavily guarded organisation enshrouded with mystery and separate from the police and government would want to take in _every _single person linked with that organisation."

"But how is this possible?" The bewildered Time Lord muttered as he ambled here and there around his cell.

"In this case, only me and River were taken and she is in no way associated with Torchwood… Well, until now. But the only thing linking us together is _you_, Doctor."

"What?" He looked up from thought at the mention of his name.

The American gave a wry smile. "Well, I don't know this woman and the only thing linking us is the fact that we know you."

"Very good deducting, Sherlock." Another female voice said in a sarcastic tone.

"How many cell partners do I have?!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Only me, River, your brother and the beautiful green one over there." Jack chirped, pointing his head towards a shadowy figure.

"For the last time, human, you shall refer to me as Madame Vastra."

"Says she's from the year _2011_." Jack stated. "Isn't that peculiar?" He sarcastically muttered.

"_Vastra_?!" The Doctor blurted.

Jack clapped his hands in triumph. "I knew it! Everyone here knows you!" He chortled. Suddenly his tone lowered to a serious and eerie murmur. His eyes bore The Doctor's. "So what have you done that is so bad that everyone you've met is being dragged here from different points in time?"

At once, The Doctor glared at the ex-Time Agent. "I-I don't know what you're talking about…" It was true. He genuinely didn't know what was going on and for once, that _scared_ him. But if he could, he could bet _anything_ that he was the cause of this mess. But what did he do? What did he do to get his companions in this? Everyone stared at him, expecting something from the Time Lord, but all he could do was stand there and think. His eyes swept past Vastra and he felt his throat clog up as the words _"He will knock four times"_ replayed in his mind. The prophecy was real and _still _going. And his dearly beloved companions will witness it. Maybe the Universe really was _not _on his side…

Jack eyed The Doctor. His eyes evident of something only he knew, but didn't tell any one else and that bugged him. Fortunately for the ex-Time Agent, he _knew_ what was going on, but The Doctor refusing to say anything annoyed him. He turned his head to the opposite prison cell and glared at Koschei. Koschei gave him a look of utter desperation, as if begging not to do or say anything reckless.

"Jack, don't jump to conclusions," River muttered.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on?" Vastra interrupted impatiently.

"I don't know!" The Doctor bit back, eyes darting between River, Vastra and Jack.

"Yes, you do." Jack intercepted.

"What?"

"Jack, if he doesn't know, he doesn't know." Koschei pleaded from his cell.

"Oh, _really_?" Jack exclaimed, as if pointing out the obvious. Yet again, he glared at Koschei. "Does he know?" That question was directed at Koschei in a personal way, but he was steadfast and continued his stare off with Jack. He won as the ex-Time Agent turned away. Instead, Jack gave The Doctor a menacing look making the Time Lord squirm under the pressure he was going through. He was sweating and that was when Jack thought the Time Lord was losing his cool.

"Just say it!" Jack boomed.

"_FOUR TIMES_!" The Doctor yelled.

Jack blinked at the sudden outburst and frowned in confusion. "_What_?!"

The Doctor, just as confused, frowned. "What?"

Immediately, Jack shot a glare at Koschei. "Did you tell him?!" He hissed. Koschei, however, showed no emotion and refused to say anything.

Suddenly, the sound of metal doors creaking open distracted everyone from the intense atmosphere as the sound of a man and woman struggling was heard.

A woman shouted from afar in a Scottish accent. "You better have a good explanation for this because you have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"I'm sorry, but whatever you have accused us of doing, I'm pretty sure we haven't done it." Came a male voice in an English accent.

Puzzled, The Doctor turned around to face the others, hoping they knew what was going on. Instead, they returned with just as mystified looks as anyone. Unexpectedly, the lights turned on revealing white walls. Jack was now standing next to The Doctor, trying to get a glimpse of the new prisoners whilst River sat next to Vastra. Brax, however, was slumped on the corner.

The energy barrier to The Doctor's cell sizzled and was lowered as a ginger woman and light brown haired man was shoved in. The Time Lord studied the energy barrier for a moment. As for their captors, they were humanoid and wore an all too familiar blue uniform with black helmets. The two burly men who escorted Amy and Rory glared at The Doctor and turned to face Koschei.

"Good as dead," one of them jeered, referring to the blonde Time Lord. Worry flashed before Koschei and he gulped, managing to muffle a whimper. Both soldiers turned around muttering mocking remarks as the door slid to a close behind them. The Doctor knew them too well as Salvis Vicis. A police force consisting of a time sensitive race that protect the universe from any temporal threats. In league with the Justice Department, The Doctor would have to admit that the Salvis Vicis have got that edge when it comes to doing their job properly and in more _style_. Every so often, he would try to hide under their radar, since the Salvis Vicis and Time Lords weren't exactly in the best of relationships. What annoyed him however was how he and his friends have ever become entwined with them.

"Oh, nice going, Rory! _"I'm sorry, but whatever you have accused us of doing, I'm pretty sure we haven't done it."_" The woman mocked, imitating the man she came in with.

The Doctor's mind tore to the newcomers and at once, he frowned. "I don't know you!" He blurted.

The ginger one sneered. "Nice to meet you, too." She sardonically hissed. However, she faltered the moment she finally laid eyes upon The Doctor. "It's you…"

"I'm sorry?" The Doctor exclaimed. She edged closer to the man she came in with and slapped his arm.

"Rory, it's _him_."

"Who?" Rory boggled.

"Do I know you?" The Doctor enquired with utter confusion.

"You haven't changed a single bit," she said in a matter of fact tone. "The suit and the Converse…"

The Doctor frowned even more. "What?"

"You blew up our Maths department!" Rory remembered.

This time, The Doctor gave a feeble smile and scratched the back of his head. "Ahh…" He turned to the woman. "Amelia Pond?"

"It's _Amy _Pond." Amy corrected, but The Doctor pouted. She nudged the man she came in with, "and this is Rory Williams. By the way, I got disqualified in that exam because you were telling me the answers." She stated.

"I thought you said you got disqualified because you wrote _"Go away Algebra, no one likes you. You'll never find X." _in the exam paper," Rory objected. The Doctor arched a brow as Amy nudged him hard in the ribs. Suddenly, he frowned.

"I liked Amelia Pond, what happened to it?" The Time Lord complained. He shook his head as another thing hit him. "_Blimey_! You've grown! How long's it been since I last saw you?"

"Four years." She muttered.

"_Four_ years?" The Doctor boggled. "They must have taken you through a time portal. This is the year 3054."

"And you yourself don't look like you've aged four years." She said, oblivious to The Doctor's last remark and poking the Time Lord's chest instead. He gave a wry smile.

"I took the short cut…"

"What, like time travel?" Rory chipped in.

Amy slapped Rory's arm. "Don't be silly, Rory."

The Doctor chortled, but Jack gave a sharp cough and glowered at the Time Lord.

"Don't you think you still have a bit of explaining to do?"

* * *

**Note: **Oh WOW! _Two _author's notes, you must be lucky!

Just on a quick note, I own the Salvis Vicis. They aren't official Doctor Who characters.


	26. Before You Can Count to Ten

**Note: **I'm getting the tingly feeling that the following chapters are going to be long, but I hope I didn't rush anything...

As always, thanks for reviewing and the favourites!

Enjoy!

* * *

Everyone eyed him again. There was something about Jack's behaviour that put The Doctor off and he shifted uneasily. "I won't say anything without Romana," he declared defiantly.

"Who's Romana?" Jack asked impatiently.

"She's another Time Lord who escaped the Time War with Brax and she's somewhere in this place inside a cryogenic unit." He said slowly, annunciating every word carefully. Jack, however, took this as a big revelation and felt annoyed with himself for cornering The Doctor like that after what he apparently had gone through.

"I still feel her presence, she's alive."

Everyone turned to the corner and finally noticed Brax.

"Who gives you the right to speak of her?" The Doctor snapped. "If you've spoke of her earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess." Brax eyed his brother and let his head lower. The Doctor scoffed in disgust.

"Yes, my race is one big family and your customs may be different to ours, but I don't think you should speak to your brother like that." Vastra inquired.

The Doctor ignored the Silurian and walked towards the front of his prison cell. He fumbled around in his pockets.

"It's no use, they took your sonic screwdriver." Koschei called out from the other side.

"They didn't dig _deeper_ enough," The Doctor replied as he pulled out a sonic screwdriver. "Bigger on the inside pockets, spare sonic screwdriver…" he said in answer to Koschei's questioning glance. "Why are you the only one with a prison cell to yourself? I'm quite envious right now." The Doctor said, waving his arms at the others in his cell. Koschei, however, shrugged. The Doctor turned to the rest of the people inside his cell. "I'm going out to look for Romana and the TARDIS and please just _please_, try not to escape because I know each and every one of you have to potential to do so." He begged with his hands clasped together. Jack, River and Vastra arched a brow and he sighed.

"You'll trigger off the alarms," River objected.

"I saw how the barriers work when Amy and Rory came in, I promise I'll be back before you count to ten," he reassured and activated the sonic screwdriver. "If they're out to get anyone who's even made contact with me, that means I know who's next on the list and I need to stop them before it happens." Frankly, he was right. The next possible victims on the list were Martha and Mickey and there's no way he would let anyone harm them because of him. The energy barrier sizzled and lowered, just like when it lowered for Amy and Rory and he hopped out of the cell, stretching out his arms and letting out a sigh of relief.

Jack frowned at The Doctor and shouted "_One, two…_"

"Alright!" The Doctor exclaimed raising his hands. "Ten seconds was just an expression, _blimey_!" And he jogged out of the area and found himself in a junction, choosing to go either left or right. "Left…" He murmured and with that, he sprinted through the long white corridors. At once, he heard the cry of his TARDIS and followed her call through the winding passages and never-ending stairways. Here and there, he would peer into a room, but nothing came into interest. From time to time, he would hear the footsteps of officers and hide in a nearby room. Funnily, it almost felt like a normal day for him.

**~DW~**

"So..." Jack trailed off, ambling around the cell, waiting for time to pass by until The Doctor came back. "How did you two meet The Doctor?"

"He disturbed our Maths exam," Amy replied indifferently, however, Jack arched a brow. Rory nervously chuckled.

"It's not as worse as it sounds..." he said. Amy scoffed.

"Yeah it is."

"Didn't you say he "blew up the Maths department"?" Jack asked with a little amusement in his tone. Amy and Rory exchanged glances.

"Yeah," Amy replied." He mentioned something about Maths with the Slitheen?" Jack chortled.

"The Slitheen?" Jack whistled. "I met them once... "

"So how did The Doctor meet _you_?" Amy curiously asked. Jack grinned.

"In World War II," he casually replied. He didn't notice Amy and Rory's open mouths and grinned even more. Go on, he thought. Ask how it all happened.

"You must be... _old_!" Amy gasped. Jack frowned. That certainly wasn't what he expected. River laughed at the whole conversation.

"The first time I met The Doctor, I tried to kill him." She smirked. Jack blinked at River.

"How come he's never mentioned this before?" The American exclaimed. River, however, gave a wry smile.

"_Spoilers_."

"So who is _The Doctor_?" Rory interrupted. "If he thinks he can just stride out a prison cell, he must be one heck of a guy..."

"He's _brilliant_." River simply replied, smiling at a few memories.

"He's not exactly of this world, but he likes to think of himself as part of it." Jack said.

"What, you mean he's alien?" Amy asked. "I knew it!"

"He's a Time Lord." the ex-Time Agent stated. "So are Koschei and Brax." He pointed at the two Time Lords.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Rory interrupted. "_Time _Lords?"

"It's pretty self explanatory," the ex-Time Agent murmured, as if pointing out the obvious. "They're lords of Time."

"Yes, we get that..." Amy waved off.

"In other words, he's a time traveller?" Rory chipped in.

"Well, _duh_... How else did he meet Jack during the London Blitz?" Amy murmured, poking Rory in the arm. He huffed in annoyance, but refused to pester Amy. She pointed at Brax. "So you're a Time Lord, too?" Brax nodded.

"I'm The Doctor's brother." He replied in a monotone. "And he's his best friend," he stated, pointing at Koschei in the other cell.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Amy trailed off. "How come you look like humans?"

"No, no, no..." Koschei said. "_You _look like us. We came first."

"Okay... Are Time Lords ever this vain?" Jack laughed at that.

"One thing's for sure, The Doctor is Vain with a capital V. But like I said: He's _brilliant_. He's saved billions of lives. There's no doubt he'll live up to that name today."

"The Doctor saved my life," came the feminine voice of Vastra. "Our cargo ship was under attack and we crashed in Aridius. I managed to send out a distress signal before the crash and expected the Shadow Proclomation to help. To be honest, The Doctor and his friends saving me was ten times better than an army of bipedal rhinos." Koschei snorted at the remark.

"Was he ever forgiving?" Brax suddenly asked. Everyone turned to him, surprised yet again that he was still there. "It's all my fault, I should have told him about Romana all this time..." Jack gave a warm smile.

"He's always been forgiving." Jack stated but Brax hesitated.

"But will he forgive _me_?"

**~DW~**

Suddenly, he spotted an all too familiar brown haired woman being escorted by a soldier. The Doctor closed his eyes and smiled; thanking Omega she was alive and safe. At once, she noticed him and her eyes glistened with hope as The Doctor mouthed "_shhh!_" As much as he _hated_ doing this, he stealthily lunged up to the soldier and jabbed two fingers in his neck making him black out and fall to the ground with a loud thump. The Doctor stuck two fingers on the soldier's neck, felt a faint pulse and let out a deep sigh. Immediately, he looked up to the woman and grabbed her in a tight embrace. "Romana," he whispered. "Am I so glad to see you! It's a good thing the Salvis Vicis are clever enough to know the procedures of reclaiming someone from a cryogenic unit." Again, he sighed in relief.

"You can kiss me later." She murmured, "What is going on? Who are you?"

Before The Doctor could even say anything, they heard footsteps from afar and The Doctor shoved Romana into the nearest room. He grabbed the unconscious soldier's body and dragged it towards the room as Romana quietly shut the door after him. They stumbled into a room with a box in the middle of the area. The Doctor caught a glimpse of something silver and smiled, as it was none other than his sonic screwdriver. Before he proceeded towards it, Romana grabbed his arm. "Who are you?" She repeated slowly.

"Can't you tell who I am?" The Doctor asked, worry in his tone.

"I've just come out of cryogenic sleep, it could take a while before my senses and memories return to me."

"Take a good look." He stated.

Romana scrunched her face in deep concentration. No, there's something she'd never forget. Her eyes bored The Doctor's brown orbs. He had the eyes of an old man who has seen too much. Subconsciously, she placed her hand upon The Doctor's chest and felt the steady beats of his hearts. "Oh, it's really you," she cried out.

"The one and the only," he murmured, giving a wry smile.

"How many deaths?" She asked.

His head lowered as he mumbled, "Nine…"

"Oh, you silly man," she soothed and looked into his eyes, then studied his whole body. "This tenth body of yours doesn't look half bad," she hummed. "Your dress sense isn't too shabby-I mean, not many men can pull off a pair of Converses with pinstripes," she laughed, poking his chest. "And I have to admit, you do look rather handsome and the sticky-uppy hair makes you look…" she stopped, trying to find a suitable word. "Cute." The Doctor blushed.

"Um…" He stuttered.

Romana's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry! Is this what I am now? This new regeneration. Am I really open to things?"

"Um…" He stuttered again.

"Hm?"

"Oh, it's nothing…" The Doctor mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

"Tell me, Doctor." Romana said with steel in her voice.

He sighed and leaned against the wall. "It's all my fault," he breathed. "I didn't mean for this to happen, I promise! I didn't know you'd all get dragged into this." He whimpered.

Romana frowned at The Doctor's sudden mood swing. "Doctor."

He looked at his fellow Time Lady and smiled, as if trying to lighten up the mood. Frankly, it felt utterly fake. "I'm going to die."

"What?" She gasped.

"Some time ago, I was told a prophecy: _"He will knock four times." _ That was the prophecy of my death." Romana shook her head in disbelief. "I thought I escaped that prophecy back when the End of Time threatened to overcome this universe. But not too long ago, I was told the same prophecy, but from another person: "_when he knocks four times, the world will be free of it's prison." _Whatever the world's prison is, I've yet to find out, but It's still going, Romana. The prophecy. I just wanted to make sure you were the first one to hear."

"No." She said loudly. "_No. _Not today, or any other day. I won't allow you to watch you die. Besides, who knows if the prophecy is actually about your death? It might not even be about someone's death."

"I see you've still got that stubbornness from your third body," he muttered. "Aw, maybe you're right." He laughed it off, trying to change the subject. Romana, however, gazed at him longingly. She'd only just came from a cryogenic sleep and reality was starting to hit her hard. Cautiously, The Doctor looked around and ambled towards the box to pick up the device. The Doctor jumped as the sound of sirens went off and realisation hit him like a bomb as he noticed the sonic screwdriver was under a pressure sensitive plate wired to an alarm system. He groaned and immediately raced out of the room into the hallway with Romana in tow. The white walls reflected red lights as they heard many marching footsteps.

"Whatever was said back in that room stays between you and me." The Doctor muttered.

All Romana could do was nod and give him a look of reassurance.

**~DW~**

Koschei covered his ears as the continuous loop the sirens made boomed in his sensitive ears. "Trust _him _to wander off!" He shouted across to Jack and the others.

"Oh God, what do we do?" Amy yelled.

"I dunno, you're Scottish kick something down!" Jack shouted over the sirens. He pulled out a laser gun and aimed for the energy barrier.

"Where did you get a compact laser gun?" River interrupted. "Didn't they search us and empty our pockets?"

Jack playfully chuckled and pulled the trigger.

**~DW~**

The Doctor winced as he felt the TARDIS' pain and followed the path leading to his beloved ship's location. If it weren't for his psychic link between him and the TARDIS, he wouldn't have known where to go. He didn't notice his grip on Romana's hand, but continued grasping it as they ran through corridors and hid behind walls, rooms or shelves as blue uniformed soldiers ran by. A few unlucky ones who spotted the two Time Lords were knocked out, whilst some were tricked into thinking The Doctor and Romana were health and safety inspectors sent from the Shadow Proclamation, thanks to the psychic paper. The Doctor would have preferred the second option, but it couldn't be helped when a soldier would spot them and immediately hold them at gunpoint.

"We're near, I can feel her." He shouted over the alarms. He heard a faint "good" from Romana and squeezed her hand and they sprinted through a hallway. They halted at two metal doors with a "No entry" sign planted above them and The Doctor smirked. He let go of Romana and threw his body weight against the doors and they surprisingly gave in, despite his skinny and light frame. The Time Lord crashed into a brightly lit room and picked himself up. He brushed his suit and had the air of a mad man who had no idea what he just did as he gave a manic laugh. His triumphant mood, however, was spoiled when he looked up and noticed Jack, River, Vastra, Koschei, Brax, Amy and Rory looking back at The Doctor in surprise after his rather dynamic entry. Jack held up a familiar square gun and at once, The Doctor spun on his heels and noticed a perfectly square-shaped hole on the door he crashed through. He groaned, thinking he was quite strong to smash through the door. "I told you to stay in the cells!" He moaned. Jack responded with a cynical smile, but tore his vision to the doors as he heard more and more footsteps growing louder as each millisecond passed.

A manly cry came from behind Koschei as Brax fell to his knees glaring at his TARDIS that was placed next to The Doctor's. Honestly, The Doctor couldn't even call it a TARDIS anymore. No light or psychic call emanated from the sentient ship and countless parts of the console was taken and placed on tables. The poor ship was stripped apart like a test subject and anger welled inside The Doctor. Tears streaked down Brax's fear-stricken face and he released another cry, slamming his clenched fist on the ground.

"Why?!" He screamed at his TARDIS. "Why don't I feel her? She's suffered worse things, c'mon, girl, I know you're in there!"

"Brother!" The Doctor shouted. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry, but-but she's _gone_," he chocked out.

"Oh, _now _you realise I'm here?!" He spat out.

A uniformed soldier approached the room and immediately pointed his gun at the group. "Put your hands up where I can see them! Chief!" He called out. "They're in here!"

Jack raised his gun. "Everyone into The Doctor's TARDIS now." Amy gave him a worried look. "I said _now_!" He screamed and they all hurried into the TARDIS. The soldier yelled as he shot a warning shot to prevent the others from going into the TARDIS but Jack shot him in the thigh. The man screamed in agony and he immediately fell to the floor clutching his bleeding leg. "If you want us, you're gonna have to go through me," Jack snarled. The Doctor darted to his brother and shook his shoulder.

"Brax, she's _gone_! You need to get into the TARDIS!" The Doctor begged.

"Leave me alone!" Brax bit back.

"_Doctor!_" Jack shouted. "Any minute now!" The wounded soldier screamed in pain, whilst calling out for reinforcements.

"Brax!" Romana shouted. At once, Brax's eyes widened as he glared at a brown haired woman. "Please, just get into the TARDIS." She pleaded.

"Romana?" He gasped. He picked himself up and ran to the Time Lady in an embrace. "I thought you were gone!" He breathed. Romana smiled but violently shook him.

"We need to get into the TARDIS," she muttered. "There, you can tell me everything you've done whilst I was in a cryogenic sleep." Brax smiled at that. After all, he just wanted to talk to someone. Heavy footsteps can be heard as one by one, more and more men entered the room, raising their guns at Jack, Brax and Romana. Immediately, Brax grabbed Romana and ran to The Doctor's TARDIS. He let Romana in first and called out to Jack.

"Jack! Get in now, everyone's inside the TARDIS."

The Doctor was already inside the TARDIS by the doors as he stretched out his hand to pull Romana in. He quietly thanked her for encouraging Brax to come and she returned it with a warm smile. Soon, gunshots were heard and he yelped in surprise. He looked out of his ship and gasped at Brax's bloody body lying limp on the floor. "_No!_" He screamed, running out arms outstretched to grab his brother's bloody body from the floor in the midst of the gun battle. He didn't notice Jack grabbing his skinny arms and shoving him back into the TARDIS with every bit of strength the ex-Time Agent could muster. They fell onto the floor of the TARDIS and the doors shut on their own. Immediately, Koschei released the handbrakes and The ship materialised in orbit around Earth.


	27. Dead

**Note: **Waheeyy! New chapter!

Oh, and thanks for favouriting and reviewing, guys!

Please enjoy Chapter 27...

* * *

"What the hell have you done?!" The Doctor screamed, wriggling his way free of Jack's grasp.

"Saved yours and everyone's life," Jack shouted back. The TARDIS gave a low-pitched howl.

"Take me to my brother _now_!" The Time Lord roared, tears streaking down his face. He squirmed under Jack's clasp, but his strength was no match to the ex-Time Agent's after the previous events. "Take me back…" He choked out, burying his head into Jack's chest. Everyone gaped at the Doctor, shocked at this new side of him.

"Brax is a strong guy, Doc," Jack soothed. "I don't think anyone can kill him that easily. He can regenerate like Time Lords usually do."

"It's bigger on the inside…" Amy whispered in shock. Rory was already lost for words.

"Not the right time, Amy." River muttered.

"But... Where are we?" She whispered.

"The Doctor's time machine. I'll explain later," River muttered impatiently.

"No, the death was to quick, He got _shot_, for goodness sake!" The Doctor shrieked. He swore he felt a tingling feeling on his leg, but continued to fight over Jack. Suddenly, a new wave of pain struck him and he screeched in pain, followed by Koschei who clutched his head and fell to his knees and Romana who cried and stumbled. At once, Jack grabbed the Time Lord's shoulders, whilst River tended Koschei and Vastra and Amy helped Romana up.

"What the hell's happening?!" Rory exclaimed. The three remaining Time Lords exchanged gazes with wide eyes.

"Brax's psychic link has been cut off. I can't feel him." The Doctor whispered. It seemed the message was directed more to Shay and Romana. In turn, they both showed faces of total fright and despair. "No..."

"Well, I'm _sorry_, Doc but we're gonna have to mourn him later on!" Jack muttered. The Doctor stayed quiet. It wasn't because he didn't want to reply, but more like he _couldn't _reply because he was in total pain. "Doctor?" Jack asked with worry growing in his voice. However, he yelped when The Doctor gasped in even more pain as he clasped his bleeding leg.

"Oh my God, he's bleeding!" Amy exclaimed, covering her mouth at the orangey-red liquid oozing out of the Time Lord's leg. The Doctor pushed himself away from Jack and fell to the floor with widened eyes. Immediately, Rory darted towards the scene.

"He must have gotten shot when he ran out of the TARDIS to get Brax." Jack muttered as he immediately took off his jacket. Rory approached The Doctor, setting aside any emotions.

"Take off your shoes and lift up your trousers." He ordered. The Doctor frowned at Rory and he rolled his eyes. "I'm a _nurse_. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." And with that, The Doctor arched a brow. Rory sighed and removed the Time Lord's shoe and lifted his trousers. Jack hissed as the sight.

"Am I glad you Time Lords can heal fast," he mumbled. "Why the hell didn't you tell us you got shot in the first place?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes,"I was running out to save my brother in the midst of your little shoot out," The Doctor hissed, as if trying to point out the obvious. "I didn't feel the pain because of my adrenaline spike, you idiot." He turned his head to Rory. "There's a med bay through there," he pointed his head to the hallway leading to the many rooms of the TARDIS. "You continue forward, then turn to your second left, take another left, then continue on and turn right, then left again." The Doctor glanced at Rory. "Are you taking this down?"

"Don't worry." Amy chipped in. "My uncle's a cab driver and I get used to all his directions babble when I get lost." The Doctor stared at Amy and finally shook his head.

"Get some bandages and antiseptic wipes from the cupboard on the right of the third bed. You won't miss it." Rory nodded and picked himself up. Amy flitted over to him and just as they entered the hallway, Rory called called back to The Doctor.

"Where do you keep the pain killers?"

"I don't have any." The Doctor replied indifferently. "I can't have apirin," he admitted to Rory's frowning face. Rory shrugged and muttered under his breath.

"Well... don't blame me if you're feeling the pain..." Rory and Amy hurried off into the depths of the TARDIS. They were walking alone throughout the corridors and an awkward silence fell upon them. Amy was the first to break that silence.

"It's bigger on the inside," she repeated from before.

"I know," Rory simply replied. Amy blinked at him. It took her by surprise and Rory looked like he was in control of himself. It was silent from then on until they reached the Med Bay. Rory stared at the room and craned his neck here and there, studying the Med Bay. He blinked. "It's exactly like a hospital ward..." He breathed, but Amy was already in the room searching for bandages. Apparently, she seemed to have taken all this in, as if it were a normal day.

**~DW~**

The Doctor turned to his leg and winced at the slight sting he felt. He scowled at himself. His brother's out there possibly dead, no matter how much The Doctor wished it wasn't so, and he's sitting down doing nothing. If worse comes to worse, he thought of chucking everyone out of the TARDIS, just so no one could stop him. Jack perched beside him and took off his shirt.

The Doctor blinked.

"..."

Jack tutted.

"It's to slow the bleeding, _you idiot_."

"Ah..." Jack pressed his shirt against the wound and the Time Lord hissed.

"Doctor, we should focus on saving your friends." Romana interrupted. "I bet you Brax is still alive. The Salvis Vicis have no right to kill him, unless he was convicted of any crime."

"That's the problem," The Doctor muttered. "He was in charge of a squad to high-jack foreign alien ships for any resources for the Time War. He's killed _thousands _of innocent life forms and I _hated _him for that, but he was hated and targeted by the Salvis Vicis. He was one of their S ranked criminals in their bingo book."

"But times have changed," Romana objected.

"Not for the Salvis Vicis," He returned. "Rassilon, he's dead. Even if he isn't, they'll just kill him again and again. If worse comes to worse, they'll just force him to use up all his regenerations." He muttered, shooting his head upwards to prevent any tears from being shed. The Doctor didn't want any more people seeing him cry. They've seen him cry far too much.

"No it can't be..." she gasped.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Romana!" The Doctor snarled. "You can't feel his psychic link, the idiot's _dead_!" Romana gave him a hard look of defiance before she stormed off.

"Oh, why'd you do that?!" Jack shouted and left his shirt on The Doctor's wound as he left the console room shirtless to chase the Time Lady. Was Vastra the only one to laugh at that?

"Doctor forget Brax, we need to move _forward_ and save your friends." River pleaded.

The Doctor huffed in anger and annoyance. "You careless little-" Before he could say anything, Rory and Amy came back. They looked around and gave questioning looks to everyone's shocked faces. Rory put on a pair of surgical gloves and produced a syringe and a needle. The Doctor's eyes widened.

"I told you to get bandages and antiseptic wipes!" He panicked. Rory returned the remark with a scoff.

"You've got a bullet in your leg, I need to take it out."

The Doctor pushed his hand against Rory's as he was about the place the needle into his leg. "Taking the bullet out will take up too much time!" He shouted. "We need to get to Brax!"

"You've got a _time machine_!" Rory exclaimed. "Why can't we just travel back-"

"Just _shut up_!" The Time Lord shrieked. "Don't any of you care about my brother?" He shouted. "My _dead _brother?!" At once, everyone shot worried glances at The Doctor. Jack's face, in particular, fell from defiance to sadness. The TARDIS gave another loud howl, but no one cared to wonder what the matter was, except Koschei who glared back at the central column. Exhausted, The Doctor scrubbed his face with his hands. "Just-just do what you have to do." He sneered at Rory. "_Now._" Immediately, the nurse injected the anesthesia into The Doctor's leg. Jack sauntered in the console room buttoning up a new shirt.

"Hope you don't mind me borrowing one of your shirts from you wardrobe." He announced. The Doctor rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"How's Romana?" He tentatively asked, scrunching his eyes as Rory wiped the wound clean with an antiseptic wipe.

"She went into the bathroom door and locked it before I could get her," he replied indifferently.

Amy brought Rory a cardboard tray of surgical equipment and he peered into the tray, hands hovering over the equipment until they lowered to pick up the steel tweezers. Slowly, Rory lowered the tweezers into the open hole. He winced.

"You're losing a lot of blood," the nurse murmured. His hand stopped as he felt the bullet. The tweezers gripped onto it and he cautiously raised his hand. The Doctor studied Rory. Frankly, he wasn't that half bad, considering he was a nurse. He applied a sterilised dressing on the wound and gently wrapped his leg with the bandages Amy produced from her pocket. The bullet was placed into another cardboard tray and Jack scampered over to have a look at the bullet. He whistled.

"That's a pretty nasty bullet," he murmured. "Winchester Enhanced Ranger T bullet... Although it originates from Earth, it's made quite a stir to intergalactic attention." The Doctor glared at the ex-Time Agent.

"You think _this _is going to change what's happening?" The growled. Jack raised his hands in mock surrender.

"All I'm trying to get at is that we need to save the others before the Salvis Vicis kill them."

Jack was right. Martha and Mickey, as well as many others, were his biggest priorities for the meantime. He sniffed and picked himself up, stumbling a little because of his injured leg. Rory reached out to grab The Doctor.

"Oh, no you don't." Rory objected. The Doctor scowled and swiped Rory's hand from his shoulders. The bewildered nurse looked at the others for help, but they refused to do anything. If there's one thing they knew about The Doctor, it was the fact that he will never give up. He limped towards the console in silence as he tapped the co ordinates to Earth 2010. Like he thought, Mickey and Martha were his biggest priorities. So what? That's only one Time Lord down, there's still him, Shay and Romana. His forced to halt his train of thought. How could he ever think like that?!

"We'll save Brax," Koschei murmured.

"He's dead." The Doctor replied indifferently as he pulled the dematerialisation lever and the TARDIS hurtled through the Time Vortex.

**~DW~**

"Where are we?" Jack asked as he hurried out of the TARDIS, being the last one. He swore he heard the faint scream of the TARDIS, but closed the door in a rush. He studied The Doctor for a moment. This time, he changed into his brown suit. It was pretty understandable since the other suit is bloodstained from his injury...

"Earth 2010." The Doctor muttered. "Should be around… just after New Year."

The group were walking down a local park, hoping not to attract too much attention.

"So, Doctor." Amy chipped in. "Mind if you tell us what's going on?"

He looked at the confused faces of Amy and Rory and sighed. "Something's not right. People around different points in time who have met me are being taken. But for what reason?" He trailed off.

"Is there something you did?" Rory asked.

"I don't know," He complained. "Where's Vastra?"

"Hiding in the shadows," River replied. "You wouldn't exactly want to see a green person walking in public…"

"I would," Jack chuckled.

"Stop it." The Doctor groaned. "Who's got a phone?"

"Rory does," Amy called out. Rory eyed Amy, then sighed at her pouty look and gave The Doctor his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Jack asked.

"UNIT." The Doctor simply replied. The phone rang once, twice and someone finally picked it up.

_"Pizza Geronimo._" Came the answer across the phone.

"Listen, it's The Doctor. I'm in need of an urgent request. Is Doctor Martha-"

There was no sound from the other side, followed by static. Nervously The Doctor hesitated.

"Hello?" He called out, thinking the line got cut. Suddenly, the familiar voice of none other than Malcolm Taylor was heard. "Is that you, Doctor?"

"Yes, it's me." He muttered. "Is Doctor Martha Jones present?"

"It's Martha Smith," The Doctor rolled his eyes._ "_And actually, she was assigned on a mission with her husband to help Torchwood clear some mess at the Naismith Mansion. Something about a mysterious space ship dropping something into the mansion. Looked like a person falling from the ship to be honest after watching some footage. After that incident with the red planet appearing in the sky out of nowhere, there's no doubt things can fall out of the sky," he chuckled. The Doctor, however, frowned. In fact, it was _him _that fell from the ship and into the Naismith Mansion. That was when he realised that today must be the day he and Koschei took off together after sending the Time Lords back into the Time War. "Also," Malcolm added. "Our equipment detected a fluctuation of temporal energy there. I insisted on going, but Colonel Mace needed me there to monitor the mansion. Frankly, I think it's nothing more than a _dot _in space…"

"Okay, thanks for your help." He replied and hung up, leaving Malcolm in mid sentence. He looked up at the group. "Jack, you should stay here."

The ex-Time Agent frowned. "There's no way I'm leaving you." Behind those eyes, Jack seemed to have something to say, but kept it in.

"Martha and Mickey are at the Naismith Mansion." The Doctor stated. "She was assigned on a mission with Torchwood. I cannot risk you seeing your past self, Jack."

Jack cursed and looked at him. "So what am I supposed to do?" He asked annoyed.

The Doctor looked at the rest of the group and sighed. He regretted was he was going to say. He approached Amy and Rory. "You don't even know much about me and yet, I've still dragged you into this mess." He murmured. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He hugged the two and whispered something in their ears. "There's something I want you two to do for me. It's only a small thing: _Live_. Live your lives and forget about me. There's a train to Leadworth leaving at 4:10pm. I already bought you tickets before you came out of the TARDIS and they are under the second panel of the TARDIS console. It was _brilliant _getting to know you." He let them go and both of them gave him worried looks.

"Look after everyone." He made out to Jack. "Make sure they don't come after me. I can't risk any more deaths," he whispered the last part. He produced his sonic screwdriver, grabbed Jack's left wrist and activated the device on the vortex manipulator. "I'm making the vortex manipulator work for one time jump only. After that, the circuits will burn out and the time travel mode won't work any more. If I don't come back or if things get very out of hand, I want you to take River into Earth 3054. _Maybe_ today could change the outcome of the future, but that's probably what it was meant to be…"

"Doctor." River breathed. "My God, you better come back in one piece."

"No!" Romana countered. "I'm _not _leaving you."

"Count me in." Koschei chipped in.

"This is the _Salvis Vicis_. They aren't your everyday enemies." The Doctor complained.

Koschei and Romana exchanged glances. "So?"

He eyed the two stubborn people - the two _fantastic, brilliant_ people. He silently laughed at his inner joke of using his catchphrase from his Ninth body. "You just won't leave me alone, wouldn't you?" He chuckled.

Behind The Doctor, River glanced at Jack. "You seriously think you'll let them go on their own?" She whispered.

Jack looked back at River with a defiant look. "Who said I'm letting them go on their own?"

**[A few hours ago…]**

Unaware of the bright light that was shone in his eyes, he felt his eyelid released by a finger and it closed, revealing darkness again. There was a slap to his left cheek and his brows furrowed. Then another slap to the right cheek and he shifted uncomfortably. He hissed as a searing pain on his abdomen stung him and he opened his eyes.

"_Good!_ You're finally awake." Came a male voice. "My name is Doctor Carter. You've just regained consciousness from a fatal gunshot near your left lung – Sorry about that. I'm going to ask you a series of questions to make sure nothing has affected you. What is your name?"

"B-Brax," Carter mumbled.

"_Good! _And where are you from?"

"Gallifrey?"

"Hm… And what was the last thing you remember?"

Brax scrunched his face in concentration. "Pain… A _lot _of pain… I was on the floor… crying?" His eyes widened in realisation. "What have you done to my TARDIS?" He growled.

"Oh, _good_! You remember," the man evilly smiled. He had the look of a manic scientist, but his wild eyes showed madness and the bad form of curiosity. Frankly, his presence frightened Brax, but he fiercely kept an unemotional face. "It seems like you also had a lot of…" He smiled trying to find a suitable word. "Close friends who think you're dead now."

"Where are they?!" Brax shouted, losing his cool. He clenched his fists and gasped, as his arms didn't budge because of the leather straps keeping them down. His whole body was in fact tied down to a gurney as if he were a wild animal.

"Gone!" Carter laughed. "They left you, because they think you're dead! And poor you," He mocked. "There's no way of getting to them because…" He trailed off, stepping aside to reveal Brax's dead TARDIS. "I may have stripped your ship down to pieces to see how it works and possibly build more of them for the police force." He said in a soothing tone that fuelled hatred in the Time Lord. "It's a shame an actual life force was needed for your fascinating ship to work because we may have killed it-"

"Shut up!" Brax roared. "Or I'm gonna-"

"What are you gonna do?!" Carter creepily laughed. "Kill me? I'd like to see you try." He jeered stretching out his arms. Then he lowered himself to meet Brax's eyes. "Your friends are gone and you can never escape this base without your ship." He gestured towards the table full of components ripped up from Brax's TARDIS. "Your only purpose now is to serve us and you come in very nicely with a major case the Salvis Vicis need to end. In fact…" He edged in nearer the Time Lord and grabbed Brax's chin, vigorously yanking his head to face him. "Someone you know needs to end." He explained very slowly. Before Brax could speak, Carter covered his mouth with his hand. "As for the others, _well_… Anyone associated with him should end because they shouldn't know a person who isn't supposed to exist. Am I right? You should know that, Time Lord." Is he talking about The Doctor? Is that why everyone he knows is being taken into Salvis Vicis custody? More and more unpleasant thoughts rushed through Brax's mind. Carter sighed in disappointment as Brax squirmed under Crater's hand. "We were supposed to execute you all, but orders from higher ranks wanted an alternative way of closing this case. I knew they shouldn't have underestimated you lot. Who knew we would lose nearly all of you? I'll regretfully admit: your Doctor friend and that Jack is really clever." He gave a malevolent smile and removed his hand from Brax's mouth. Carter turned around, heading for the door. "This world is trapped in a prison so large and mighty thanks to your friend."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Brax growled, annoyed that they could just mock him by telling him very vague ideas. What or _who_ was he talking about?

"It's a shame the General wants to talk to you, as I wanted to cut you up and see how this fascinating Time Lord physiology works." He waved his hand in dismissal and the two guards standing by the side of the doors came into action. They marched up to the Time Lord and released the leather straps one by one, making sure the captive won't escape.

What the hell's going on?


	28. Hunting

**Note: **Hello! How are you all? Did I leave you jaw-dropped from the last chapter? Haha! I'm just kidding, my sense of humour is rubbish...

Okay, enough of my babbling, let's get down to the meat. (No pun intended on the Title of this chapter)

Behold. Chapter 28...

* * *

Two days.

_Two _days since Brax's imprisonment and torture and no Theta or Jack or Koschei. He learned to never give up. In fact, that was the family motto: _"You fall, you get up and you keep going." _The Doctor certainly lived up to the family motto, so why couldn't Brax? He frowned and shook his head - He was being pessimistic _again_. Actually, he'd been planning an escape during the whole time in the Salvis Vicis base. After overhearing conversations during his daily check up he found out the base was in fact, a space station in orbit around the Earth's moon. Surely, any space station would have a teleport or at least a space ship, especially being a police station.

His energy barrier sizzled and lowered as a guard walked in to escort him to his daily examinations, thanks to Carter… There was no doubt Carter showed a very keen interest on Time Lord physiology after shoving Brax into a decompression chamber without any air supply or protection, solely to see his respiratory bypass system activate. Honestly, he had enough. As the blonde guard approached the Time Lord, he clenched his fist and punched the guard in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of him and clearly taken by surprise. A jab to the guard's neck knocked him unconscious and Brax legged it to the nearest exit, pausing a moment to allow the metal door to slide open. He came to an abrupt halt as two uniformed men stood in front of him, wielding a cattle prod. He really didn't think this through… Volts of electricity shot through the Time Lord's body as his body convulsed and fell to the floor. His stomach came into contact with one of the men's steel capped boot and he gasped in pain. The two soldiers however, jeered at him.

**~DW~**

_Whack!_

The blonde soldier backhanded Brax and his head snapped back from the sudden impact. "That's for knocking me out, Freak." He shouted. They were in a well-decorated, red-carpeted office clad with countless medals and alien technology behind glass cabinets. Fortunately for the guards, Brax couldn't retaliate because he was tied down to a chair in front of the table.

"Colonel Alex Graham!" Came an angry solid voice. "You do not have permission from your superiors to make physical contact with any of our prisoners." A burly man, wearing black tinted shades strode in.

The so-called "Alex", who appeared to have been the one Brax knocked out, straightened his face and posture and saluted as he sincerely apologised. "Sorry, General Hughes. He has caused my colleagues distress and I couldn't allow them to be affected." He pointed his head to a tall ginger soldier. "Sergeant Smith here got most of the abuse." The ginger soldier sniggered, but Brax's eyes widened and he accusingly pointed his head at Alex.

"You believe this moron?!" He exclaimed.

"I believe we have more _important_ matters to discuss," General Hughes stated as he sat down by his office table and pulled off his glasses revealing piercing green orbs. "You're referred to as "Brax", am I right?" He chuckled as Brax huffed and looked away. Hughes picked up a file on his table and flicked through it, as if he'd never seen it before. "Irving Braxiatel of the House of Lungbarrow," he read. "Shame… nothing much on your family history…" Brax frowned as Hughes continued reading the file in silence and hummed every so often, much to Brax's annoyance. After reading the file, he finally concluded, "Your reputation recedes you."

Brax's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If it's what you want to hear, I shall say it. I openly admit to my wrong doings during the Time War. Desperate times came to desperate measures and I was ordered to sacrifice many lives for the sake of creation." The General slowly shook his head and raised his hand.

"No, no, no. That's not what we're here to discuss."

Brax shot a confused glance. "Then what is it?"

"For the sake of the Universe, we want you to kill your friend."

The Time Lord's eyes widened in shock. "What?" He quipped. "Who?!" Was the second word he let out.

"Stop being a pain, dammit!" Hughes boomed, slamming his fist on the table. "We're running out of time and you _know _who we're talking about."

Brax was genuinely confused with the whole situation. His brother seemed to be the only answer in his mind considering the fact that he's been on the Earth for way longer than Koschei, Jack or anyone else. His first encounter with Doctor Carter seemed to solidify his idea, but he shook his head petulantly.

"You think this is some sort of a joke? Can't you even notice something's wrong with time? You're a _Time Lord_, you idiot." Hughes growled. Brax shot him another look of confusion. Hughes glowered at the Time Lord and edged nearer to him, breathing steadily down his face. "We wanted to do the job the easy way – Kill him and there's less deaths and pain. If that's not enough to snap you out of your senses, I assure you, Time Lord…" He trailed off, standing from his desk and turning around. He spoke the next few words very slowly. "I _will _make this as painful for you."

Brax gulped as Hughes produced a large gun from beneath the table. Brax's eyes widened. That wasn't what he thought it was… "Where the hell did you get a de-mat gun?" He demanded with panic in his voice, "You're seriously not-" Immediately, he winced and pulled his head back after Hughes pointed the gun at him. Hughes rolled his eyes at his sudden reaction.

"Relax, Time Lord." He scorned. "This is for something else." Hughes' eye glinted at the last part, making Brax gulp again.

"For what?" Brax murmured.

A soldier burst into the office panting and coughed. He stood up straight, saluting Colonel Graham, nodding to Sergeant Smith and finally giving another salute to General Hughes. "I'm sorry for the rude interruption, sir. We have managed to locate the humans known as Doctor Martha Smith and her alleged husband, Mickey Smith. We seem to have spotted the location of Captain Jack Harkness and there are fluctuations of temporal energy emitting in their area. I'm assuming the so-called "Doctor" has landed there. We're now awaiting your orders, sir."

Hughes looked up from the gun and smiled. "_Perfect! _Colonel Graham, prepare the time portal. Where are they?" He asked the soldier.

"Earth 2010, sir. We'll patch you the co ordinates as soon as my colleagues adjust the temporal parameters of the time portals." He nervously replied.

"Oh, Earth! Pretty nice planet considering the fact that we can blend in with the crowd. Well done, Corporal Falman. You may continue helping prep the portals. Graham, you stay here." Falman tentatively nodded and headed out the office. Hughes looked at Brax. "Colonel Graham, I want you to look after this." He raised a small blue stone from his table and tossed it to the soldier. "It's a portable prison. It only lasts for one hour so be wise when using it. When you arrive from the portal, throw this on the ground next to the Time Lord's feet and the prison should activate. We don't want any _escaping_, do we?" He smiled at Brax and the Time Lord returned the smile with a scowl. "I've kept my patience with you. Not only did you escape, but also you failed to co-operate with me. If it means going the hard way, let it be. I'm a nice man, Brax. But I don't give second chances." Sounds familiar, Brax thought. Hughes raised his hand as an indicator to Sergeant Smith and at once, the soldier approached Brax, released him from the chair and restrained the Time Lord with handcuffs. He yanked the exhausted Brax to look intimidating. A glint of sadness and disappointment flashed the General's face.

"We're awaiting your orders now, sir." Colonel Graham said.

Hughes looked at the two soldiers and looked professional again. "Both of you take a squadron with you and go to the portals. I'll meet you there." He lifted the de-mat gun, "We're going hunting."


	29. Numbers

**Note: **Hello! Here's a chapty solely focusing on Amy and Rory, since I feel like they haven't got enough appearance in the fic.

So without further ado, here's Chapter 29...

* * *

Anyone would agree it was strange being the only ones to climb on board the National Rail train without any luggage. It couldn't be helped if they were swept away through a teleport by an alien race. The customs guard eyed Amy and Rory suspiciously.

"You're telling me you came to London from Leadworth without any luggage?" The guard questioned. "Not even a _bag_?" Amy and Rory exchanged glances.

"No." Amy stated indifferently. The guard sighed and let the couple walk through the gates.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Rory whispered. "We're going home whilst The Doctor and everyone else is facing all that danger."

"Rory, what can we do?" Amy exclaimed in annoyance. "They're all alien and we're just humans. They can look after themselves." Finally, she let out her true feelings on their whole day. It worried Rory because he doubted this was something she'll _never _forget.

**~DW~**

Rory thanked the waitress for the tea. They were in their designated cabins as light snacks were placed on their table. Amy proceeded with a book she decided to buy for the four and a half hour train journey. The waitress noticed this and couldn't help but burst out.

"I'm sorry, are you by any chance reading _'Harry Potter'_?" Amy looked up from her book and grinned.

"Yeah," she laughed. "_'The Deathly Hallows'_" She added.

"Oh, that's my favourite novel in the series! I've read it ten times." She grinned.

"_Ten _times?!" Amy gasped. "You've probably memorised the book!" Both girls laughed at that remark.

"Oh, how rude! My name's Alex."

"I'm Amy," she replied. Rory smiled as the two women conversed.

"No..." Alex gasped. "I would love to see Neville and Luna together. They would make an adorable couple."

"Ron and Hermione have always been my true pair," Amy stated. "Even since the beginning."

"..."

**~DW~**

It felt more of a relief to see Amy back to her normal self. Rory gazed out the window as English countryside scenery zoomed past. He felt a little wary, wondering if they were being followed following the events with The Doctor. Suddenly, Alex's pager rung and she peered into it. She gave a look of disappointment.

"My boss wants me to serve him some tea, I'll see if I can come back soon." She winked. Amy raised a finger.

"Can I have some water when you come back, please?"

Alex grinned, "Yeah sure!"

She closed their door and turned around to have a knife pointed at her. Before Alex could scream, a hand grabbed her mouth, muffling her screams. Two blue uniformed men sauntered in front of her and smirked. One of them looked at the other.

The man smiled at the waitress. "She could be useful."

**~DW~**

They were in the kitchen. The men watched Alex make Amy and Rory's tea. Specifically, they made sure they'd watch her pour a white powder they gave her into their drinks. She cried.

"You sick people." Alex hissed. "This is why this world is in a turmoil - it's filled with hypocrites like _you_." The nose of a gun was jabbed at her lower back and he whimpered.

"Just continue pouring the poison in their drinks." A man said slowly. He looked at his watch impatiently. "One and a half hours to go," he muttered. Alex took this golden opportunity to jot down something on the bill.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The man growled as he spotted Alex. He snatched the paper from her and read it.

"It's the _bill_, you moron." He hissed. "Every order gets them." She folded the paper and placed it under Amy's cup of tea. That's right... Amy ordered water, so hopefully she'll know something is up. As for Rory, he ordered tea, but Alex made him coffee instead. If there's one thing a British can do, it was to detect whether something was tea or not, just by looking at it. Frankly, these men didn't notice anything and she silently mocked their stupidity.

"I'm done," she sneered at the men, carrying the tray of drinks. They glared at her stubborn expression and nudged her forward through the hallway. They approached Amy and Rory's cabin and waited for Alex to do her thing. She knocked their door and heard the faint _"come in"_. She looked at the men and they pointed their heads at the door, already annoyed and filled with impatience. They waited and a minute or two until Alex came out again.

**~DW~**

"That's strange, Rory. I didn't order tea..." Amy mumbled.

"I didn't order a _coffee_..." He said in disgust. "Did she get her orders wrong?" Amy noticed a piece of paper under her cup and plucked the curiosity to read it. "What's that?" He asked, "Oh, don't tell me that's the bill..." Amy, however, frowned.

"It _is _the bill... Is it?" Rory frowned and took the paper from her. The prices were on there, but there were random symbols jotted along the side. "Are they Roman Numerals?" Amy took the paper from him again and scanned the paper.

"They _are_!" She exclaimed.

"What are they doing on there?"

"Rory, did you notice something strange about Alex?" Amy asked, oblivious to Rory's question. He raised a brow.

"She looked a little worried." Rory admitted.

"Her eyes showed fear." Amy murmured. "I think she's trying to tell us something..." She pointed at the paper.

"What, the Roman Numerals could mean anything." Rory pointed out. "It might not even be for us."

"Rory, don't be silly. They never write Roman Numerals on a bill." She studied the paper for a moment. The Roman Numerals read 'CDX', then 'XX' and finally 'CDLX'. Rory stretched out his hand.

"Here, I had to study some Roman Numerals I'll see if I can read them." Amy gave him the paper and he scrunched his face in concentration. His bobbed his head up in triumph. "The numbers are 410, 20 and 460."

"What kind of numbers are they?" Amy frowned.

"I don't know." Rory shrugged. "You happy now?" Amy, however, glared at the paper. She sighed a lowered it down. She picked up her drink and brought it to her mouth until her _Harry Potter _book came into sight. She halted and placed the cup back on the table. A thought struck her mind.

"Maybe they mean page numbers." Rory shot a quizzical look.

"What, for _Harry Potter_?" He replied. "I won't be surprised, actually..." Amy grabbed her book.

"Maybe it's some kind of code." She contemplated. "Like the first word of each page makes up a message, or something like that..."

"Now you're just being paranoid..." He trailed off.

"What are the numbers again?" She asked, ignorant to Rory's remark. He sighed and read the paper.

"410, 20 and 460."

"Slow down!" Amy complained. She flicked to page 410. The first word was 'Ron'. Okay... Then she flicked to page 20. 'Updated'... Honestly she wasn't too keen on where this was going. Finally, she flicked to page 460 and the last word was 'Neville'. "_Ron updated Neville?!_" She blurted. Rory snorted.

"Is that what the _"message" _says?" He mocked. "That doesn't even make sense."

"...No, Rory."

"Yes?"

"It's not the words that make the message..." Amy replied. "Oh Alex is such a Harry Potter nerd, I'm so thankful she _is _one..."

"What are you talking about?" Rory muttered. Amy looked at him with worried eyes.

"Like I said. It's not the words that make the message. It's the _word_. _'Ron updated Neville'. _The first letters of each word, Rory. It says _'R.U.N'_."

* * *

**Note: **Gah! I couldn't help but put in a Harry Potter reference :D

It's a short chapter, but hopefully the next one makes up for that :")


	30. Happy Time Lords

**Note: **HOLY MOTHER OF GALLIFREY, here's a long chapter for today!

It's rather action packed (?), but I hope I didn't rush anything...

Enjoy!

* * *

In the front, the Naismith Mansion was full of military trucks and the all too familiar black SUV was there, too. Being a discrete man, Jack spied behind the bushes just way ahead of the mansion. He noticed the three Time Lords walk into the mansion. River perched behind the ex-Time Agent. "So what's the plan?"

"I don't know…" He mumbled.

"Oh…" River's face fell. "Where's Vastra?"

"Monitoring the west side of the mansion." He sighed, "I usually have _countless_ plans in my head every time I'm on a mission with my Torchwood crew. Today just happens to be a complicated day." He gave a playful smile, but sighed. "No time to be flirting," he muttered to himself.

"How complicated?" She asked. "I don't think I've dealt with things more complicated than what I've gone through…"

"River, has The Doctor, Koschei or Brax said anything suspicious to you? Or do you see anything strange?" He questioned, ignorant of River's last remark.

"No, has something happened?" She enquired.

"Oh, c'mon. You've seen Earth 3054, doesn't that seem suspicious to you?" He insisted. Again, being ignorant of River's question.

"What are you talking about?" River frowned, becoming annoyed of Jack's strange behaviour.

"I've read it all over books at the Time Agency," he muttered to himself. "'Earth 3054 - The era where humans and aliens work together to develop the cure for cancer. Space travel expands to five more galaxies and alien slave trade gets banned and the peace treaty between humans and aliens was put up thanks to a group of freedom fighters.'" He recited from a particular textbook he read in his early days of the job. "Look at it now…" He trailed off. Then he looked at River. "Never mind, we should get a move on."

"Wait," River intercepted. "The past version of you is still in there. You can't see each other, it will cause a paradox!"

"Oh, I'll do my best." Jack simply replied. Suddenly, he remembered his vortex manipulator was working thanks to The Doctor and a _big _thought crossed his mind. Instead, he and River kept their ground as Jack observed the front of the mansion.

**~DW~**

The Doctor was the first to enter the grand hall - The very hall where the Time Lords nearly made their escape from the time Lock. He glanced to the left and there it was - The Immortality Gate. Frankly, it didn't seem like long ago since he was last here.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor turned around at the familiar voice and sighed in relief to see Martha and Mickey approach him. "Mr and Mrs Smith," The Doctor grinned. "Am I so glad to see you alive."

"Was that a joke?" Mickey teased, but The Doctor scowled.

"You're in danger." He simply stated. The couple, however, chortled.

"We're always in danger," Martha smirked.

"_No_," The Doctor said with raised brows and lifted fingers. "You two are in _big _danger."

"Yeah okay, Doctor." Martha waved him off. "We need to sort out this mess and fit some new windows," she said pointing at the glass ceiling where The Doctor fell through. He arched a brow and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I also called in Torchwood to help." She spotted Captain Jack carrying a crate of tools in a hurry, "Jack! Look who came to visit," she called out. The ex-Time Agent halted and smiled as he saw The Doctor. The Doctor, on the other hand, grumbled as he was in a hurry.

"Well if it isn't the neighbourhood's friendly Time Lord," He grinned, resting the crate on the ground and walking towards the group. "Koschei," he smiled and saw Romana. "And who's _this _beautiful young woman?" At once, Romana's face flooded pink.

That's right. This was the past Captain Jack – the one who hasn't known Romana yet. "This is Romana." The Doctor introduced, "and she's taken." He lied, but the ex-Time Agent fell for the cheap trick and his smile fell.

"Romana, eh? Beautiful name," he complemented, making Romana swoon a little. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Stop it-"

The sudden beeping emanating from Jack's vortex manipulator interrupted him. The Doctor's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Your vortex manipulator shouldn't be doing that, why's your vortex manipulator still working?" He questioned.

Jack raised his hands. "It's still not working fully… _yet_." He discretely put it. "I managed to make a few modes work. It can send and receive messages from other devices. That's how far I've gone…" He murmured. He tapped a few buttons on the device on his wrist. "Looks like I got mail…" He smiled. The Doctor rolled his eyes as Jack continued reading the vortex manipulator and gave an uneasy "Oh…"

"What is it?" Martha asked.

He continued reading the vortex manipulator. "Sorry guys… Looks like myself and my team are gonna have to finish off for today… Just got an alert that there have been some rogue aliens that may have gone through the Rift in Cardiff…" At once, he ran towards the exit calling out for his team.

"Poor guy," Mickey mumbled. "After the loss of his team, he managed to round up a new group."

The Doctor shook his head. He pulled Mickey and Martha out of the hall and into a small room. Koschei and Romana followed through and shut the door. Martha noticed The Doctor's slight limp and she began to worry a little.

"I'm being serious, Martha. Someone is out their waiting to take you two." The Doctor explained slowly. It was as if the encounter with Jack never happened. Martha arched a brow.

"Why do they want me and Mickey?" She asked.

"Because apparently, I've done something and they want to harm the people I know." The Doctor snapped. Martha blinked at The Doctor's sudden mood change. Mickey stood between the two and pointed an accusing finger at the Time Lord.

"You don't talk to my wife like that," he warned.

The Doctor gave a low growl and scrunched his eyes. He ran his hand through his hair and scrunched the bridge of his nose, clearly under pressure. He fumbled his pockets and produced his sonic screwdriver. "Please, just _please _trust me on this." He grabbed Martha's shoulders.

Martha looked into The Doctor's frightened eyes. Eventually, she gave in. "Okay, what do you want us to do?"

"My TARDIS is in the local park west from here; you won't miss it. Take shelter in there."

"But what about our team? Can't we at least tell them we're going? Who's gonna be in charge of them?" Mickey objected.

"On it…" Koschei announced as he left the room.

"Now listen to me," The Doctor muttered. "Once you get into the TARDIS, press the big blue button on the third panel of the console – you won't miss it. That will send a message to my sonic telling me you've arrived. No go!" And with that, he pointed his sonic at the fire escape doors, pressed the device and the doors opened. Martha and Mickey hurried through the doors, only to be grabbed by two blue uniformed men wearing riot helmets and armour, who dragged them inside the room towards the horrified Doctor.

**~DW~**

It made perfect sense now. He always wondered if it was some sort of bogus message in his vortex manipulator because there were, in fact, no rogue aliens in Cardiff when they arrived back then. The past him used to think about that for a long time and now he understood. Who would want to lie about that? Unless it was just an excuse for him to be in Cardiff. Or maybe the other way round. Maybe someone wanted the past him out of the Naismith Mansion. Jack grinned like he owned the place and typed a message into his vortex manipulator.

"What are you doing?" River muttered, she bobbed up and scanned their surroundings.

"Sending myself a message," Jack replied and pressed the button. "Now we just gotta wait…" He observed the front entrance of the Naismith Mansion and began counting down from ten. "Three… two… one…" Like predicted, the past Jack, along with four other previous Torchwood members hurried out of the mansion and into the SUV. Within seconds, the black car sped off. "And that's my cue," the American announced. "Let's go." River didn't listen and froze on the spot. Jack frowned, "River. You don't have to worry about any paradoxes now, I sent off the past me."

There was a look of pure worry and terror on her face. She simply pointed at the blue soldiers clad in blue riot gear, sneaking around in the bushes and trees towards the mansion.

**~DW~**

Pure horror struck The Doctor as Martha screamed at the soldier grabbing her. Mickey tried applying is works of training by kicking his captor in the groin, but was kneed in the stomach by Martha's captor.

"Let them go!" The Doctor growled. There was another scream behind him and to his utter dismay, another blue soldier wrapped his arm around Romana and clasped her mouth with his hand. "Let them go!" He screamed louder. It was futile. Blue men swarmed the room holding The Doctor at gunpoint whilst a few left the room and headed the same way Koschei went. "You do _not _want to go there!" The Doctor warned, anger boiling up in him.

"Oh, it's the brother!" Came a voice from one of the soldiers – presumably the leader of the lot. He ambled from the door and edged closer to the Time Lord. Slowly, he removed his helmet. To The Doctor's surprise, he was young and blonde. "Don't kill him _yet_! The General has plans for him," he sneered.

"Yes, Colonel." They shouted in unison.

So he's the Colonel - not the big boss, The Doctor thought. He stopped as the barrel of a gun was pointed to his forehead, with the Colonel holding the weapon. "Get going." He muttered, pointing his head to the door towards the hall of the mansion. The Doctor frowned, but did as he was told. Slowly, he walked towards the doors, followed by the Colonel. The rest of the soldiers followed suite and so did Romana, Martha, Mickey and their captors. Salvis Vicis soldiers rounded all the UNIT operatives on site and lead them into the hall as hostages. The Doctor spotted Koschei kneeling on the marble floor, hands behind his back and also held at gunpoint by a ginger soldier.

"Shay!" The Doctor shouted and took a step forward.

"Oh, don't you _dare_ move!" The Colonel boomed, shaking his gun to threaten the Time Lord. At once, The Doctor froze.

"What the hell is going on?!" He muttered. For the whole time, Koschei didn't look at The Doctor; his eyes showed fear and shock and The Doctor dared to see what's making his friend like that. He gasped as he saw a brunette man banging his clenched fists against a force field. He was shouting something, but nothing could be heard. It was as if he was muted on the outside. "B-_Brax_?!" He chocked out, a tear threatening to escape his eye.

A well-built brown haired man, in his late forties wearing black tinted shades entered the hall slowly clapping. All the blue soldiers stood up straight and saluted the man. So he must be the big shot, The Doctor thought.

"Well done!" He mocked, "You found your long lost brother." He pointed a remote at Brax and suddenly, he was mute no more.

"_Doctor!_" Brax shrieked, "Get out of here! They want to kill-"

"And _that's_ enough," The man pressed the remote again and Brax's shouts from inside the prison were muted.

He was at tipping point. "What the hell is going on? Why are you doing this to my friends? If it's me you're after, just do what you have to do because I was told I was gonna die when he knocks four times. I don't hear any knocking and I'd rather have a heroic death rather than a planned one." The Doctor snarled. Romana cried out at that but was slapped by a soldier to be quiet. Rage emanated from The Doctor.

The Colonel was the first to speak out, ignoring The Doctor. "General Hughes, we have the UNIT operatives, the three Time Lords, Martha and Mickey Smith, but no sign of the Silurian, Amelia Pond, Rory Williams, River Song and Captain Jack Harkness."

Hughes grunted. "Search the area for them. I want them here if it means killing them."

"_NO_!" The Doctor roared. At once, his head snapped to the left as Hughes back handed him. He winced at the stinging pain on his cheek. Suddenly, there was an outroar from the UNIT soldiers and Hughes grabbed a pistol from his holster and shot a warning shot. Immediately, everyone hushed. Screaming could be heard in the hallway and all heads turned to the direction of the sound. The all too familiar American wearing a grey military jacket ran into the hall wielding a pistol of his own and pointing it around the room. However, he was way outnumbered no matter how skilled he was at combat and was pinned to the ground by five soldiers. He spotted Koschei and shouted at him.

"You _idiot_!" He boomed, his face being crushed on the floor. "You didn't tell him!" All Koschei could do was look at the ex-Time Agent being put down like an animal with frightened eyes.

"Jack?!" The Doctor frowned. "I thought you went off to Cardiff!"

"Yeah, that was the past me." He muttered and waved at himself. "This is the future me."

"What?!" The Doctor frowned, "You were supposed to look after everyone!" He exclaimed.

The sound of static interrupted everyone and Hughes picked up his walkie-talkie. "… Sir," came a male voice. "We've tracked down River Song and the Silurian known as Madame Vastra. We've managed to restrain them after assaulting over fifty of our men. We're awaiting your orders, sir."

"Where are Amelia and Rory?" Hughes demanded.

There was more static followed by the nervous reply, "Squad five are tailing them..." Hughes scowled and tossed his walkie-talkie to a soldier. He looked at The Doctor, trying to stall a bit of time, despite the fact that time seemed to running out for him. "I see you've met Colonel Graham and Sergeant Smith," he gestured the blonde and ginger men. "They were the ones who noticed something was a little… _off_."

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean "off"?" He saw Brax slamming against the force field of his prison and noticed there was a blue stone by his foot. A portable prison! He had two options: wait a few more minutes until the prison powers down, or physically remove it. He much rather have gone for the second option of he didn't have a gun pointed at him. He growled in annoyance and impatience. Maybe he could stall them until the force fields start to fail. After all, the prison must have been activated some time ago…

"Oh, c'mon, Time Lord!" Hughes shouted, as if pointing out the obvious. "Can't you tell?"

"That's the problem," Jack shouted back angrily. "He didn't."

Confused and furious, The Doctor hollered. "What the _hell _is going on? Is there something I've missed?" His eyes darted here and there and he saw Brax again, continuously slamming the force fields and tried giving him reassuring looks. He grunted as he heard the safety catch of a gun behind him release.

"You were so busy playing happy Time Lords, you didn't notice time was literally deteriorating around you." Jack explained slowly.

"What?" The Doctor said no more. This had something to do with the prophecy, he thought. He saw Brax mouthing, _"run"_ from behind the force field and slamming the invisible wall in even beats as if attracting his attention. Hughes snapped his finger at one of the soldiers who came over and handed him a de-mat gun and at once, The Doctor whimpered at the sight of the weapon. "Where did you get a de-mat gun from?" he breathed. The force field surrounding Brax suddenly fizzed and that meant it was going to power down soon. Because of that, there wasn't enough power to mute Brax and his screaming and banging were heard more clearly. Suddenly, his shocked expression fell to utter sadness.

Brax…

The Doctor noticed this whole time, his brother was slamming the prisons force field at four steady beats. _Four_. _Four times. He will knock four times. The world will be free of its prison when he knocks four times…_ Everyone was there to see the prophecy. The Doctor fell to his knees. Romana, too, glared at Brax.

"Doctor!" She exclaimed. "Don't tell me…"

"Just do it!" he cried out to Hughes. "For the sake of history. But on one condition." He looked up. "You leave my friends in peace."

Hughes arched a brow, "What are you talking about? I don't wanna kill you." At once, The Doctor shot a perplexed glance at the General.

"What?" He let out. Romana squealed as the safety catch of the de-mat gun was released with a _"click"_

"He's _lying_!" Romana yelled as he kicked her guard's shin and with a scream, he let go of the Time Lady. She ran, arms outstretched, to intercept The Doctor's fate.

"What are you doing?!" The Doctor screamed as Romana came closer and closer and closer… until no more. Every face in the hall immediately flashed with shock.

The Doctor didn't notice a gunshot.


	31. Gotcha

**Note: **Why hello there! Anyone feeling tormented after a long wait from the last chapter? Haha! I'm just kidding...

Enjoy Chapter 31...

* * *

Romana's emotionless eyes widened. She reached out to The Doctor and rasped out a final word, "Doctor…" Before her body fell limp to the floor. Orangey-red blood oozed from her neck and onto the floor at an alarmingly fast pace. The Doctor stared and blinked. Tears trickled upon his cheeks and he gritted his teeth. He scrunched his eyes, clenched a white-knuckled fist and punched the marble floor, screaming; letting out every bit of anger, hatred and despair. He didn't notice the floor beneath his fist suddenly gathering an orangey red liquid. His mind, an emotional turmoil, let loose the grey clouds as more salty drops fell from his eyes. _"NO!" _He shrieked and covered his face with his trembling hands. For all he cared, Colonel Graham can shoot him for moving away from him; he simply ran to Romana's lifeless body. Slowly, he picked her head up, followed by her torso and gently cradled her in his embrace. "She only just woke up from cryogenic sleep," he rasped. "God dammit, _regenerate_!" He pleaded and shook her body. It was too late. The death was too quick for a Time Lady to regenerate. She was gone and The Doctor painfully accepted it. He buried his head in Romana's still warm head and wept.

"No…" Koschei breathed.

Brax froze in his prison. His face showed no emotion, but a tear trickled down his cheek. He placed a hand on the force field, praying to Omega this wasn't real.

Colonel Graham stood in shock with the gun hanging on his hand. He trembled, not because he killed someone, but because it was the first time he killed someone. His mouth agape, he fell to his knees. "I-I…" He trailed off.

"This is all _your _fault!" Jack shrieked. The Doctor assumed the remark was for him and let out his remaining anger on the ex-Time Agent.

"You think it's _my _fault?!" He screamed back. The Oncoming Storm was fast approaching.

"No, you idiot!" The American yelled back. "Your bloody _best friend_!" The Doctor shot a glance at Koschei. He, too, was crying, but worry flashed his face.

"Can we stop with all the domestic fighting?" Hughes shouted. "I have a job to finish," he announced, preparing the de-mat gun.

"Didn't you notice anything off?" Jack asked The Doctor, oblivious of Hughes' and everyone else's presence. "All this time, surely you must have sensed anything?"

Admittedly, The Doctor nodded. "I should have died a long time ago, should I?" He confessed, but Jack frowned in confusion. "My existence has caused a paradox hasn't it?" He growled in total annoyance. "All this time, I felt a paradox, but was too scared to do anything because I've only just met Shay, Brax and…" He stifled a sob and it pained him to say _her _name. Instead, he simply pointed his head at the dead body still in his embrace. "It should have been _me_." He muttered. "I was the one to die, she shouldn't have intercepted the shot."

"What are you talking about?" Jack frowned. The Doctor frowned, too.

"The prophecy," he stated, as if pointing out the obvious. "'He will knock four times'. Brax knocked four times and Romana got shot when it should have been me…"

"What prophecy are you talking about? There was no prophecy involved in all this." The American slowly explained.

"But you're right about one thing, Doctor," Hughes interrupted. "There's a paradox and we're at the heart of it. And guess who's the cause of it."

"I told you!" The Doctor exclaimed, waving at himself. "Just finish the job."

"No, Doc. You're pretty hard to get rid of." Jack retorted.

"It was me," Koschei announced. He stood up from the ground as every Salvis Vicis soldier, human and Time Lord gaped at the blonde Time Lord.

"Wh-_what_?" The Doctor stuttered. Jack glared at Koschei.

"His death was imminent. He was supposed to die with the Time Lords in this very spot." Jack stated, stretching out his arms to indicate the hall of the Naismith Masnion. He looked into The Doctor's eyes to make sure he was listening. "I _told _Koschei everything – his what-was-meant-to-be death. I told him to tell you back when I first met him and you two found Brax at Cardiff. I told you to tell The Doctor!" The last part was directed at Koschei and he winced at that.

"How am I supposed to tell him?" Koschei objected. "We've only just discovered our most needed happiness, I couldn't just turn that away!"

"But because he's _still _alive." Jack called out, ignoring Koschei's rant. "He's the cause of a giant paradox and you've been sauntering around the universe having fun."

The Doctor glowered at his best friend. "You've known all this time?" All Koschei could do was nod. The Doctor slowly shook his head. "How long has the paradox been growing?"

"In relation to Earth hours, nine and a half hours." Hughes replied. "Our equipment detects that the paradox will be the cause of the universe's destruction after ten hours."

"Ten hours," The Doctor repeated. "This has been kept from me for nearly ten hours." He sighed and placed Romana's body back on the floor and slowly closed her eyes. A sudden thought crossed his mind and his eyes flashed back to Jack. "If Koschei died, wouldn't that mean Earth 3054-"

"Is what it was meant to be." Jack finished off. "Yes."

The portable prison sizzled - An hour has finally been gone. Gradually, the force fields lowered and Brax sprinted towards the Doctor. "We saw a possible future for Earth, the bad future where aliens and humans don't get along" Brax said. "Maybe we can change it. We'll _fight_ for that change if we have to." The Doctor and Jack exchanged thoughtful glances.

"Earth 3054," Jack recited. "The era where humans and aliens work together to develop the cure for cancer. Space travel expands to five more galaxies and alien slave trade gets banned and the peace treaty between humans and aliens was put up-"

_"Thanks to a group of freedom fighters."_ The Doctor finished up. Both Time Lord and ex-Time Agent looked at Brax. He returned their looks with a confused frown. "That explains why Earth was anti-alien when it was supposed to be peaceful and the time Vastra's cargo ship got shot down by humans…."

"And Pen Haxico's extra nuclear power as defence against humans." Brax remembered.

"Aliens across the universe are being terrorised by humans." The Doctor breathed.

"And the paradox is probably the cause of fluctuating temporal energy our scanners have detected." Hughes chipped in.

"Is this why the TARDIS has been acting all strangely?" The Doctor contemplated. "I thought I heard her scream in my mind and every time we would travel to 3054, it always seemed like she refused to travel there…"

"Possibly…" Brax murmured. "It all makes sense for me, too. Back at Gallifrey, the seer from the future told me that I will meet only _one _Time Lord. She must have not seen Koschei."

"But I don't understand…" The Doctor muttered. "There was a prophecy. "_The world will be free of it's prison when he knocks four times"_…" The Doctor murmured in deep concentration. "It's prison… It's prison…" He repeated. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. "It's prison!" He shouted again. "The paradox! It meant the paradox!" The Doctor exclaimed in slight excitation. "Maybe the prophecy wasn't directed at me, but at someone else. _"The world will be free of it's prison when he knocks four times", _all this time, it was saying that we can escape the paradox and Brax knocking four times indicated the start of it." Immediately, his face fell. His hearts wrenching at what came to mind. "But-but that means Koschei is the second phase of the prophecy…"

"As for the cause of this mess…" Jack sighed as everyone looked at Koschei. The Doctor turned to Hughes and groaned, regretting what he had in mind.

"General Hughes," he called out. "We understand it is the Salvis Vicis' duty to alter any crimes that affect Time itself, but I have a request." He said with sincerity. Hughes slowly nodded for The Doctor to proceed. "Let me deal with this." Hughes' vivid green eyes bore The Doctor's brown orbs. They revealed nothing but an unbeatable fire of defiance. As much as he wanted to say "no", he couldn't say it to this rather extraordinary man. This universe was in his hands and gambling with it was certainly something he'll never be up for. The General didn't want to lose his cool and slowly he put on his shades making The Doctor hesitate a bit.

"You have thirty minutes." And with that, all the Salvis Vicis soldiers were surrounded by blue light and zapped into thin air - All except for the General himself. Static could be heard again from his walkie-talkie as he pressed the receive button.

_"We have taken Amelia Pond and Rory Williams into custody."_

"Stand down, all of you. And that's an order." Hughes demanded before turning off the walkie-talkie.

He walked towards Jack and whispered something in the ex-Time Agent's ear. "Make sure your friend doesn't do anything wreckless." He stopped for a brief moment of thought and smirked. "We can't afford another change in history, causing Earth's End _four billion nine hundred and ninety-nine million nine hundred and ninety-eight thousand and eleven years earlier_." He hinted. Jack's eyes lit up at the last part, but before he could say anything, Hughes mouthed _"shhh!" _And finally disappeared.

"Where did they go?" One of the UNIT soldiers asked.

"They teleported back to their year 3054 base." The Doctor simply replied. "They want to be as far away from the centre of the paradox." No one, but The Doctor noticed the de-mat gun Hughes left behind. Was that on purpose? He'd never use that thing. Not after the Time War… Koschei wavered and instead, walked towards the gun and picked it from the floor. "Oh, no you don't!" The Doctor warned as he darted towards his best friend and snatched the gun from him. He winced at how heavy the weapon felt. "Never in a lifetime." He muttered. Koschei scowled.

"Dammit, you idiot!" He exclaimed. Taken aback by Koschei's sudden outburst, The Doctor stepped back. "Can't you for once let me do what's best for the universe?" He snapped, although feeling the pain from every word he shot from his mouth.

"I can't," The Doctor whimpered. "I just can't…" Because of his compassionate nature, Jack scampered off to the bewildered UNIT soldiers witnessing the Time Lords argue. Quietly, he ordered them to leave the mansion and they did so. He drove them to safety – away from the "eye of the storm" because he doesn't want them to remember these events.

For a long while, a deafening silence enshrouded the hall. Lost for words, everyone simply refused to look at each other. There's no escaping fate.

"Theta," Koschei said much more softer this time. "If you're my best friend, you'd let me do this _one thing_." But The Doctor stubbornly shook his head.

"No," He defiantly replied, but tears were evident in his eyes. "Not after what we've been through."

"But you've got Brax," He argued. "You and your brother have more to see than _this _crippled idiot."

"_No_!" The Doctor threw the de-mat gun to the floor and the deadly weapon skidded all the way across the hall. "No more deaths. No. More. Deaths..." He broke down. Koschei backed away in shock. "We could do so much more," he chocked out. "So much more…" He let out in a whisper. A salty drop trickled down his conflicted cheek and again, The Doctor shot his head up, fighting the burning sensation in his eyes and the unshed tears he'd been longing to let out for a while. Tentatively, Koschei approached The Doctor and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. From this action, The Doctor looked up into Shay's eyes.

"For once." He slowly said. "Just trust me." He squeezed his shoulder and gave the most genuine smile he'd ever made which wretchedly, made The Doctor tear up and slap his hands to his eyes to wipe the tears. _Typical_. He didn't like anyone watching him cry.

"Time can be re written," The Doctor hissed.

"Not those times, _never_!" Koschei answered back. Eventually, he chuckled silently. "I had the best ten hours of my life. Thank you for saving me from the Time War the first time." Angrily, The Doctor shook his head for the umpteenth time.

"I'm _not _letting you go," He cried out. Koschei sighed.

"We've got less than ten minutes before the universe goes bang," The blonde Time Lord complained.

"_So_?"

"…" At once, Koschei chortled at his best friend's foolishness.

"Give me one good reason why you would go this far for me… for the _universe_?" The Doctor questioned. "You're willingly sacrificing your life and your-your… _laughing_," He exclaimed. Koschei sighed. The Doctor simply didn't get it. Slowly, he brought his head towards The Doctor's and tapped his forehead against his best friend's. The Doctor gasped as Koschei's mind eased his way into his, projecting memories since day one: Rose, the intergalactic game of tag, Martha, Mickey, Jack, the peculiar blonde Time Lord wearing a red dress which made his ears redden in embarrassment, Donna, Wilf, the search for Brax, the Slitheen, Amy, Rory, Rome, River, the Silurians, the banana ice cream, the volleyball game on Pen Haxico 2… and then Koschei shifted through his memory an found what he wanted to show in particular - a scene of The Doctor and Koschei in the TARDIS replayed in his mind, like an extract from a film of a memory.

_The Doctor gave out a rather louder than expected chuckle, breaking the silence apart from the TARDIS' soothing hum._

_"You are stone cold brilliant you are…"_

_"Yes, I rather am! I haven't lost my touch."_

_The Doctor turned his head to The Master who was sitting on the pilot chair._

Both Time Lords gasped as Koschei retreated his head from The Doctor's. They were both crying and smiling at what they experienced. "Because I was called a genius." Koschei whispered in answer to The Doctor's question. "You see that pain in there…" He poked The Doctor's chest. "It doesn't mean you were wrong to allow me to die. It proves you are right. We go on. We live. We remember." The Doctor looked at Koschei with tear filled eyes. "Now do me a favour. It's just a small favour: Be a loser for once. Just lose to what the universe has to offer." _Again_, The Doctor violently shook his head and Koschei rolled his eyes. "Why are you so stubborn and resisting against what has to happen?" The Doctor sniffed and looked at Koschei hard in the eyes.

"Because I was called a loser."

Koschei huffed in slight annoyance. "Good answer," he chuckled, looking past The Doctor's shoulders and beginning to tear up again. He looked down at Romana's dead body and thought of something stupid, but brilliant. "Just to make sure I'm really dead…" He murmured. He walked towards Romana, knelt down beside her body and placed a tender hand over her head. He shivered as her cold skin came into contact with his hand.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor stepped forward but Koschei lifted a hand to stop him. Slowly, he lowered his head to Romana's and placed his lips upon hers. Gold dust seeped from him and into Romana as he kissed her. Gradually, colour came onto her cheeks and Koschei's lips parted. He stumbled backwards and blinked. The Doctor stared at the blonde Time Lord, holding back his tears and wanting to have a go at him for doing such a reckless act. Koschei, however, scrunched his eyes, exhaled a deep breath and gripped The Doctor's shoulder even harder.

"Gotcha," he whispered before shutting his eyes.

There was a flash of yellow behind Koschei. He stood motionless for a moment, his tightened grip on The Doctor's shoulders gradually loosening and his eyes flashing open. He did not cry out. He fell as gently as tree falls. Behind him, Brax stood holding the de-mat gun still smoking from the shot. His face was puffed up from the constant weeping. There was not the slightest sound because of the sound of the gunshot still ringing in his ears.

A blinding white light suddenly enveloped their surroundings followed by a little tremor. The quake grew more violent as The Doctor and Brax were thrown on their knees. The paradox was being lifted, thankfully, with time to spare. The Doctor scrunched his eyes as he felt time surging backwards against him like some sort of a stampede.


	32. The Tenth Hour

**Note: **"The end"? Nonsense!

* * *

Almost too suddenly, a tall, lean man, holding an apparently unconscious man in his left arm and a woman in his right, appeared out of smoke and found himself standing in front of the Millenium Center.

3054 Cardiff... Oh, it was good to be back...

There was a tingling sensation on his left wrist and he noticed the Vortex Manipulator crackle before the light faded to that of a dim incandescent bulb. _No more time travel for him..._ He let out a winding sigh and studied his surroundings for a moment. Judging from the bright skies, it was afternoon, which frankly proved to be a big inconvenience seeing as he got weird looks from nearby people. After that, he proceeded towards his Torchwood base with the two people held in both arms.

**~DW~**

"The Link has been broken! Back into the Time War, Rassilon!" The Doctor shouted. "Back into Hell!"

It felt revoltingly refreshing to his Time Lord senses. The paradox had been lifted.

He woke up to his shock, to find himself falling in mid air and hurtling towards the glass roof of the Naismith Mansion. There was no doubt he was in the even right before The Master reseals the Time Lock. For that very brief moment, he wondered where Jack, his brother and Romana were and remembered they were at the eye of the storm so surely, they must have survived. As far as he knew, only River, Vastra, Amy and Rory weren't at the centre of the paradox, meaning they would have known nothing of the final hours. But for all he cared, the remaining three were wise to run away from the very point in time he was experiencing right now. His train of thought stopped as Rassilon stretched out his left arm, the gauntlet emitting a deadly white glow. "You'll die with me, Doctor!"

"I know…" The Doctor trailed off. He accepted death and closed his eyes. "_Lived too long…_" He thought.

"Get out of the way." The Doctor turned around, his hearts wrenching at the sight of The Master.

No.

Koschei - The Koschei who remembers nothing of the previous ten hours. His _best _ten hours of his life. He felt a small lump in his throat and scrunched his eyes, fighting back the oncoming flood of tears.

His best friend clambered to his feet and shot a blast of energy from his hand towards Rassilon. "You did this to me!" He screamed. One by one, memories of what really happened to him seeped into his mind. "All my life!" He shot another beam from his other hand as Rassilon staggered. "You made me," another beam was shot, "One!" He threw his other hand out to shoot more. The Doctor staggered backwards, completely shocked at what was happening. "Two!" A second blast was shot. "Three!" A third, "_FOUR!_" An almighty fourth blast was enough to put Rassilon on his knees. Resisting the urge to do anything, The Doctor gritted his teeth and stood there, watching his best friend throw himself against Rassilon and back into the Time War as the Time Lock itself sealed shut.

There was another blinding white light strong enough to make The Doctor fall into unconsciousness.

**~DW~**

Jack lavished his long needed cup of coffee before approaching the man's sleeping form on the sofa. "Wake up, handsome," Jack murmured, gently nudging the man's shoulders. "Brax, c'mon. Wake up." He twitched a little before Jack prodded him on the cheek and he groaned.

"No... you can't kill him," Brax murmured in his sleep. Jack raised a brow and nervously shook him again. "No, leave Theta alone, don't kill him..." Jack frowned this time as the Time Lord mumbled more words. "You go through me..."

"Brax, you're talking in your sleep," Jack nervously said. This time, the Time Lord gasped and almost head butted Jack as his upper body shot forwards. He stared forwards wide-eyed and gaped at Jack. The ex-Time Agent looked back at him and gave him a weary smile. "Welcome back."

"Are you okay?" He murmured. Jack raised a brow.

"Me?" He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I'm fine..."

"Where's Romana?"

"Having a shower." Jack composed himself. "You better get ready, too," he stated.

"For what?" Brax boggled.

"Brax," Jack said all too calm to be sane. "You got a world to fight for."

**~DW~**

The Doctor awoke and found himself lying sideways on the marble floor surrounded by shards of glass from his previous fall. "I'm alive…" He laughed and picked himself up. "I'm alive…"

_Knock, knock, knock, knock._

He froze.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock._

Four knocks… The Doctor blinked and his face showed worry and fright as four more knocks were heard.

He almost forgot. Reality dawned upon him like a bomb as he kneeled and slowly turned his head at the familiar old man behind the Immortality Gate.

"You don't suppose you could get me out of here?" The feeble old man asked.

That's right – The prophecy was still going. Apparently. Or was it in fact really directed at _him_? Was Koschei's death really just part of a fixed point in time? Wilf only got out of the Immortality Gate the first time round because Koschei was there. But even if Koschei _wasn't _there, what would happen? The Immortality gate blipped and he realised it was on critical. Any wrong move and you're dosed with a deadly amount of radiation… The Doctor sighed, as there were two options he could possibly think of: Leave Wilf in the Immortality Gate, or the _other _option. Even the sonic would set it off… Oh, he was _thick_. It was all too simple.

"Oh, I've lived too long…" he breathed. The Doctor proceeded towards the chamber as Wilf pleaded him to stop.

* * *

_"I don't want to go…"_

* * *

**Epilogue**

1044 years later, Earth became a welcome home for humans and aliens thanks to the freedom fighters led by Irving Braxiatel and Romanadvoratrelundar, or simply known as Brax and Romana. Because of this, humans and aliens have worked together and a cure for all cancer types was discovered and further developed, creating a giant revolution to medicine.

Meanwhile, Captain Jack Harkness sipped his coffee whilst typing up a scheme for the future. After hearing of the possible destruction to Earth in the year five billion and twenty-three from General Hughes, he decided to make proposals with the Shadow Proclamation as well as the representatives of Earth to resettle Earth as the planet's time approaches. Being a straight forward thinking American, he decided to call the project: _"New, New York"_.

The Master-or shall we continue to call him "Koschei", found himself suspended in the Time Lock. He stood above the Time Lords and glared at them all, before laying eyes on the Lord President himself. Rassilon laid before him, completely powerless as Koschei scrunched his fists until they turned white. Before the Lord President lifted his gauntlet, the blonde Time Lord gave him a cold, deadly glare making him stop dead in his tracks. He had the eyes of a killer. He focused all his raw emotions into his clenched fist - all the pain, hatred, anger and despair into the fist he raised. Rassilon shut his eyes and readied himself for the oncoming attack. But no fist came into contact with him... He nervously opened an eye and saw an outstretched hand, awaiting to be shook. It was Koschei. It was the ultimate forgiveness.

And as for The Doctor himself, _we-ell…_ he made a quick five-minute stop to witness Earth 3054 in its true glory - aliens and humans together. It made him smile genuinely for the first time in this state. His long brown hair flopped to the right of his forehead and he blew it. He was still getting used to the reach and grasp of his new limbs. He really had to get used to this as quick as possible… He blinked as he remembered he had an eight-year-old girl to return to.

After all, he promised her five minutes.

* * *

**Note: **Aaaannnddd _that's _a wrap! As they always say, every story must have a beginning, a middle and an end. But not in the same order, ha!

This is my very first fanfiction project and I hope I made Justice to it all.

Thanks everyone for the reviews, follows and favourites. This wouldn't be possible without your support.

I hope you really enjoyed 'The Tenth Hour' and now that's sorted, I can start on my upcoming fanfic starring Ten2 and Rose, so stay tuned!

As for now, I've published a new fic called "One Big Circle" so feel free to check it out!


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